Death's Children: Dreams and Nightmares
by SaintFable
Summary: Harry has been trying to hold himself together, he's also learned that some people aren't what they seem. While the war draws closer, two of his only protectors will use him to bring a dark being into existence. Everyone and everything is changing. HPDM M
1. Make Up Your Mind

**Death's Children: Dreams & Nightmares**

Summary: Harry has been trying to hold himself together since the death of Sirius Black. While the war draws closer, two of his only protectors will use him to bring a dark being into existence. Meanwhile, Harry has learned that some people aren't what they seem. Everyone and everything is changing.

Main Pairing: Draco/Harry

WARNING: This is going to be a little dark. Also, there is slash of multiple varieties including male, female, and het. That means guy on guy and girl on girl love and sexual acts. If you aren't comfortable with that, then please don't read this.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. I do own this story, as well as my original concepts and characters.

NOTICE: This is the only time I will be posting this information though it does carry on to all other chapters. The story begins after book five.

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Chapter One: Make Up Your Mind

Theory of a Deadman

The foggy scenery flew by as the train rolled over the hills on its way to Hogwarts. Harry sat in his cabin watching it go as he had no desire for company, his friends or otherwise. They were in another cabin talking about something but Harry had lost interest in a lot of things since he had lost Sirius. It was one more thing taken from him, one more dark part of his life, one more nightmare for him to repeat over and over.

He had grown again, now taller and not so scrawny. His hair was a bit longer and not quite as chaotic, but it was unlikely that it would ever be tamed. In truth, the boy still looked sickly. He was something on the lines of either a vampire or a walking corpse. His eyes drawn, skin pale as though he had just crawled out of some dark, desolate place.

From what he had been told over summer, Remus was coming back to school due to a desperate attempt to fill the DADA position. This added a small glimmer of light to the upcoming year. He only hoped that being near the werewolf wouldn't remind him of his losses. The summer hadn't been any more pleasant than before. Thankfully, the Dursleys had been an annoyance but nothing more, he had ignored them and they had done the same.

Harry had had a lot of time to think things through and had come to some conclusions about the impeding course of his life. He just wasn't sure how to share them with his friends. One thing that had remained a soothing constant for him had been his friends. They had been constantly passing messages through the three months of separation. Luna had owled him regularly with something that looked like a blue Finch. When he had received his birthday present the bird had grown to the size of Hedwig in order to carry the package and Harry had been wise enough not to question it.

Tap Tap "Anything from the trolley?"

Harry looked to the elderly witch with the trolley of sweets. He hadn't eaten since he had stopped at a deli before boarding. Also, as Remus kept telling him, chocolate was good for all occasions. Just as he was about to make his request he heard a voice that he would have preferred not to hear again for a long time.

"A Liquorish Wand," Draco ordered as he stood on the other side of the cart of sweets. Harry didn't look at the blond aristocrat. He sat quietly waiting for Draco to notice him and say something to make his nerves crazy. He had resolved not to do anything about it, though. He had things that were more urgent than reacting in some childish manner to a rival.

The witch gave him his treat and took his money. "Alright, there you go." Looking back at Harry she said, "Anything for you, Mister Potter?"

Harry looked up just in time to catch a brief look from Draco before the blond turned and left. Strange.

"Um, a Chocolate Frog, please."

As he sat eating the charmed chocolate Harry came to the conclusion that things were going to change drastically, and very soon.

It was raining, again. Rain is something of a constant in the English Isles, one of the reasons everything is so green. Harry got into one of the carriages pulled by the horses of death. As he sat, staring at nothing really, someone entered the carriage and sat opposite him. Although Harry had made a firm decision about this before, he couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

"Riding to that bloody school, what does it look like," Draco sneered as he pulled the hood of his cloak off.

"No, I meant why are you riding in this carriage," the raven corrected almost lazily. If Malfoy was going to ride with him, fine, but he wanted to know why. Why his nemesis of the past five years had suddenly decided to willingly be in close proximity with him.

"Everywhere else was full. Why? Were you planning to have the whole thing to yourself," he snapped. Harry didn't say anything. The ride to Hogwarts was a silent one. Although neither said anything there were looks exchanged. Mostly Draco looking at Harry and turning away when Harry looked to meet his gaze. The looks were barely even critical, more like evaluating. When the carriage stopped the blonde was the first one out.

Harry met Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table. Both were looking at him anxiously, neither saying what was on their minds. Once the new first years had been sorted and the feast had begun Remus descended, standing next to Harry while he ate. When he looked up from his food to acknowledge his only remaining parental figure the werewolf smiled, "How are you feeling, Harry?"

"I've felt worse."

"And better I'd guess. I would like you to come to my classroom tomorrow around eight o'clock. Could you do that?"

"Sure."

"Alright then. Hermione, Ron, nice to see you again."

When Remus was gone, Hermione gently nudged Ron in a way that clearly told him to say something. The red head coughed uncomfortably, "How was summer, Harry?"

"Bearable."

"Well, that's good."

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Harry, Ron and I are a little worried about you. You hardly answered any of our owls and you were a hermit all summer. You're still acting like Sirius just died. We didn't complain before, because it was understandable that you were upset, but it's been months, Harry. You-"

"I know. I actually want to talk to you two about everything. Just tomorrow, this is our first day back."

The girl looked appeased for the moment, but he would get a fierce talking to tomorrow if he didn't talk to them. Which she had no reason to worry about that because he would. It was then that Luna came skipping over to him, her blonde hair bouncing slightly with her step. She took the seat next to Harry and gave him a bright smile.

"Hello, Harry."

"Hi, Luna. Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No, I can make it to your meeting. Would you like me to ask the rest of the D.A. to be there?"

Ron and Hermione had surprised looks on their faces, Harry didn't miss a beat. He smiled back at her and said in a gentle voice, "No, thank you."

"Alright, do you want Draco Malfoy to be there?"

"No," he said giving her a puzzled look. "Why would I want him there?"

"Oh, a few reasons. That can wait though," she answered as she stood and nearly glided away. That girl always seemed to be doing something other than walking. As though even that was too normal for her.

At the Slytherin table, Blaise Zabini sat in the seat next to his best friend Draco Malfoy. While gathering food onto his plate, Blaise absently asked, "So, why were you riding with Potter to the school again?"

Draco stopped the fork that was half way to his mouth to glare slightly at the Frenchman. "Orders. The crazy old badger wants someone to look after his precious Golden Boy and he chose me for the job."

"I don't understand why he needs looking after. It's not like he's ever alone."

"And wouldn't it be more politically correct to call him an old lion," asked Pansy Parkinson, who had seated herself on the other side of Draco.

"Whatever, I don't have much of a choice now that I work for the _old lion_," he said pointedly to Pansy, who smirked at him using her suggestion. "I have to follow Potter around for the next couple months. Apparently he's going to do something stupid and suicidal."

"Won't you be the big hero. I can't wait to hear how happy the Dark Lord will be to find out that you're working for the Light. Christmas should be a blast."

_Darkness was everywhere. He couldn't see anything. He was in a forest. The Dark Forest he thought. There were things in the dark but they weren't coming for him. They were scared. He was scared. What was following him? He heard a step behind him and began to run. Running as fast as he could through the trees. It was faster, about to spring- _

"AHHHH!"

Harry bolted up in his four-poster bed. A dream, another god-awful dream. It was the same one he had been having for the past few weeks. Whatever was hunting him, it felt like Voldemort. He could not see it or hear it or sense it in any way other than to know that it was there but, somehow, he knew that it was Riddle.

The sun was beginning to rise and Harry couldn't stay still after his dream. He got out of his bed, the blankets and sheets tangled from his tossing. The other four roommates were still sleeping soundly and he did his best not to wake them. Once he was finished with the basic morning ritual, he went to the Astronomy Tower.

No one else would be out that early and he wanted a cigarette desperately. Standing by the ledge looking out at the forest from his dreams and lighting a cigarette, Harry began to think about his dream and what it could mean. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Malfoy coming up the stairs until he was only three feet away.

"Up early, Potter?"

Harry turned around to look at the other, not particularly interested in what the other boy was doing. If he wanted to fight then Harry would leave. Besides, it was too early for such things.

"Apparently. You?"

"Like you care," Draco's eyes averted to the cigarette in Harry's lips. He gave the thing a slight sneer, "You shouldn't smoke."

Harry laughed a little, "Suddenly you're concerned about my health?"

"Not yours, Potter. Second-hand smoke taints the lungs just as bad as first."

The raven decided not to say anything. This was weird, Harry couldn't remember having a civil conversation with Draco in all the years they'd known each other. They stood in absolute silence until Harry had finished smoking and left the tower. The Great Hall had only a few oddly active Hufflepuffs, studious Ravenclaws that were already reading, and Slytherins that were early risers.

He took a seat at his house table, filling his plate with eggs, toast, and some bacon. While Harry ate he thought about where he could possibly bring his friends to explain his plans. There was the commons room, Astronomy Tower, or the Room of Requirement. The problem was that Dumbledore tended to know everything that went on in the school. Harry wasn't so concerned about him knowing where they were as he was about what was said. He needed to take them somewhere that the old coot didn't have ears in the walls.

Hermione sat down in front of him; two books as thick as his arm were set on the table next to her plate. She looked at him with her warm brown eyes calculatingly. Everyone was so antsy. "So, when do you want to talk?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Harry, you said that you would talk to us today."

"I will, I just want to make sure that it's in a safe place."

Hermione looked around subtly, like she expected a Death Eater to jump out and go "Boo!" "Is this about You-Know-Who?"

"Partially, I just don't want to chance being overheard."

"Then why not the Room of Requirement? No one will hear anything in there."

Harry looked half dead, she thought. His eyes were so sunken and sad, he was likely depressed again as well. He shook his head while he took another bite of his meal. "I don't trust that room very much anymore. Not after last year."

"Point taken, then where do you want to go?"

Ron dragged himself to his seat next to Hermione and began to eat, still as good as asleep. "I said I don't know. Just not anywhere in the school."

"How about the Shrieking Shack," Ron said through half a mouth of food.

"Ron! Don't talk when you have food in your mouth!"

"That's a good idea. We'll meet at the Shrieking Shack at 8:30."

"Okay, when are you going to tell Luna," Hermione asked as the blonde girl sat down next to Harry.

She smiled dreamily at Hermione and said, "I know where to go. How did you sleep, Harry? Did the Gilmouts get to you?"

"No, I don't think so. I want to talk to you about a dream I've been having at the meeting."

"Okay, I'll go ask the Lhûg not to eavesdrop too much," Luna announced as she stood and nearly spun away, leaving three blinking Gryffindors.

Draco had followed Harry to the great hall, using the shadows to keep himself hidden. He entered the room only after he watched the Granger girl enter and sit next to him. He couldn't hear what they were saying although he was positive that what they were talking about was interesting by the way Granger was looking about nervously. He would have to put a spell on Potter later.

The Weasel and Looney Lovegood found their way to the table too. Soon Lovegood was up and making her way to the Slytherin table, though. She did not look awkward or nervous as she spun her way over and sat next to him.

She smiled as she spoke. "Hello, Malfoy. I just wanted you to know that Harry is going through a hard time and the person you are working for is not a good person. He wants to hurt Harry. So, whatever you hear tonight has to stay yours."

He looked at her like she had just spoken to him in German. French he would have understood, but German wasn't part of his linguistic library. "I think you're confused Looney. I don't work for the Dark Lord, in case your leader forgot to give you the memo."

"I know you would never follow Voldiemort," she said with a deep smile. "And I don't work for Dumbydore."

She really is Looney, he thought. "Then what are you talking about?"

"There is only so much I'm allowed to do, so the rest is up to you and our guest. I need to go. The Finglwips are attacking the Hufflepuffs again."

Draco was temporarily incapable of thought after the odd statement of Lovegood. The second he was able to process anything again five things popped into his head. Who was she talking about that wanted to hurt Potter if she knew he worked for the Light? Who was the guest she was talking about? He had to follow them that night, no matter where they were going. If she didn't work for the crazy old man, then who? Lastly, he wondered, what in Merlin's beard was a Finglwip?

The students of Hogwarts spent the rest of the day doing mostly nothing. School started tomorrow and not even the Ravenclaws were inclined to do any work. When the sun started to go down, Harry went to Remus' classroom. It was warm, candles like spines lit up the room. The Lycanthrope was seated at his desk looking over some papers. Harry took the seat in front of his parental figure.

Remus looked up at the tired, worn out Harry that had greeted his eyes far too often, "Are you having any trouble sleeping, Harry?"

Harry realized there were not going to be any pleasantries or beating around the bush and was happy for it. "Yes, I've been having nightmares, but that's not new."

"Have you been eating?"

"Yes."

"Then why are you so thin?"

Harry smiled a little. "I've been growing. How have you been, Remus?"

The werewolf gave him a hard look that spoke of worlds not known to most man. "Worse than I have been in years. The wolf is raving more than it was when he was put away. All those years lost, not believing him, losing him."

Harry was quiet after Remus finished until the silence became too heavy. "Remus? Remus, will you look at me?"

He did look at the young man before him, who now seemed to have aged by anywhere from ten to a hundred years in seconds. His eyes glowed their eerie green as he spoke, "Bellatrix will pay. I will kill her in the most horrible way I can think of."

Remus wouldn't argue with Harry now, tell him that he had other things to think of, that murder wasn't something he should dwell on. Not when his eyes promised poison to the veins of his enemy. This did remind him of why he had really asked Harry to meet with him.

Clearing his throat, Remus asked, "Have you given any thought to how you are going to… kill...You-Know-Who?"

The raven haired teenager seemed disturbingly calm when he answered. "Yes. I don't have a solid plan yet but…."

"What were you thinking you'd do?"

"I need to know where he is first. Then I was going to use surprise to attack him when he was the least bit vulnerable."

"That's your plan? Harry, that's not a plan! That's suicide. It's a miracle He hasn't killed you yet. He's tried more times than I want to think about and you're no match for him right now. He will kill you if you do something so stupid!"

Harry was getting agitated. "What should I do then? No one will give me any information or direction. Everyone wants me to save the world but they won't do any more than hand me my wand and shove me in the direction of danger. I'm so sick of being in the dark!"

"…That's what I was thinking." Harry looked at his teacher as the man stood. Coming around the desk, he stood in front of his friend's son. "Harry, you need a teacher, someone that knows dark magic and can teach you how to survive a real battle."

The raven looked at him curiously, "What are you getting at?"

"You also need protection," he said, more to himself than to Harry.

"Remus?"

The werewolf looked conflicted, "Come back in a week. Saturday, at midnight."

"Why?"

"Harry, you're one of very few people I have left. I want you safe," Remus said as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Harry didn't complain though he didn't want comfort anymore.

"I know, Remus."

Remus nodded then patted Harry on the arm and sent him on his way. It was a good thing too because in seven minutes he would be late. He ran down the halls in his father's invisibility cloak, unaware of the person trying to follow him.

Outside, the weather was still warm and the moon was more than half full. When he was sure that he was not in danger of being seen by anyone in the castle Harry removed the cloak and made his way to the Whomping Willow. He stopped the tree by pressing the not in its trunk, then followed the familiar path to the Shrieking Shack. In what was once a sitting room, Hermione, Ron and Luna stood waiting for him.

"Where were you," asked Hermione when she saw him. He entered the room, walking past them to cast cleansing charms on a few chairs other than the one that Luna had sat on without a care. Once the chairs were somewhat decent the three sat.

"I was talking to Remus. There are a few things that you all need to know. A lot happened last year, like it does every year, but I think that this is the year we should end it, before this war can even start."

Luna was smiling encouragingly at him, while Ron and Hermione gave each other slightly worried looks. "What do you mean, mate?"

"I don't want to drag anyone into this war that doesn't need to be. I don't want any of you hurt either, but I can't do this by myself."

"Why don't you ask for help from Dumbledore, or the Order, or even Shackelbolt? He would help us."

"That's something else I wanted to say to you. I'm not going to be part of the Order anymore. I need to do things on my own. If I go to them they'll talk me to death and force me not to go. They do get through things better than the ministry, but their way isn't the best. Waiting isn't going to do any good."

His two closest friends seemed surprised but didn't object. Ron nodded, "Okay, what else?"

"We need to begin training again, immediately. I want as few people involved as possible. Lastly …I'm breaking my ties to Dumbledore."

"WHAT," the two shouted in unison. "Why?"

Harry looked to the side, and then back at them with a resolve he hadn't shown before. "I've spent a lot of time thinking about it this summer. I don't trust him anymore."

"Why not, Harry? He's always so kind and he tries to help us-"

"How much does he really help us though, Hermione? He shows up at the last second to make sure that I'm not dead. He never gives us direction or straight answers no matter how much we need them."

They were quiet, looking worriedly back and forth between each other and Harry. Hermione was the first to speak, "I'm just not sure."

"That's okay," Luna announced as she got up from the chair that she had practically started to meditate on. "You'll see soon. Now, I believe you had a nightmare to discuss?"

"Um, yeah, it starts in the Dark Forest. I'm standing there in the night when something starts to chase me. I'm running and running as fast as I can but it's faster. It starts to catch up, then it lunges at me and I wake up."

Hermione clearly found it interesting as she was thinking it over. Ron was disturbed since he was obviously trying not to think about it, while Luna was simply nodding.

"That makes sense. Who do you think is chasing you?"

"Voldemort."

"Well, Harry, it's quite simple. Start running faster. I'm sleepy. We should all be going to bed." Confused but tired, they all left the old house.

Draco could hardly believe what was going on with the Golden Boy of the Light. Therapy sessions with werewolves where he talked about murder plots, meeting with the Weasel, Looney, and Granger in the Shrieking Shack to talk about war plans and abandoning their beloved Dumbledore. It was all too much.

He had thought that he had lost Harry for a while when the Professor's door opened and the corridor remained empty, but he had followed the light sound of footsteps outside to where he could easily follow Harry's foot prints in the wet grass. He was about to jump out of his hiding place in the creepy house to run back to the old coot and rub it all in his face when what Luna had said caught up with him. _The person you are working for is not a good person. He wants to hurt Harry. So whatever you hear has to stay yours._


	2. Aerials

Chapter Two: Aerials

System of a Down

The week had continued like any other before it. Since the night in the Shrieking Shack none of them had really had time to talk about the plans further nor had they been able to escape the school to talk. The only abnormality was almost minor; Draco Malfoy had been seen around Harry more often than usual. His continuation of shadowing Potter did not go unnoticed by certain people, just like the strange stares he was giving Lovegood.

Dark Arts was once again a notable course where the students had a competent teacher that wasn't trying to kill them. Remus had stayed on for the week even though the full moon was the next day. He was tired and didn't move much but the class was not boring, as he had chosen a peculiar topic to start them off: Demons.

"Good afternoon everyone," Professor Lupin greeted weekly from his desk. "Did everyone do the reading from last night?"

Surprisingly, everyone had done their reading for once. Demons, like Werewolves, were not a subject to take lightly and most people had a strange, particularly morbid fascination with the creatures. "Today we are going to talk about the theory of summoning a Demon. How, why, and the possible consequences. Who would like to start?"

He looked around, the only person with their hand up was Hermione, other students tended to wait for her to answer questions when she was in the class. Then, the werewolf noticed that a number of Pure Blood children had their hands raised as well. "Why don't you start us off, Mr. Zabini?"

The French boy was a little smug as he began, "Demons are almost impossible to summon. It requires the use of a trinity knot carved into the ground, a werewolf at full moon willing to give its blood, an instructor that knows what they're doing, and a master that isn't afraid of dying. There is also a chant that must be spoken by both the instructor and the master. Not to mention that the master would have to be extremely powerful and luckier than a four-leafed clover. Basically, it's either impossible or suicide."

"Why do you say that?"

Pansy broke in, it was a discussion after all. "Because the monster's almost guaranteed to pull you into the void or eat you."

"They eat you," squeaked Lavender Brown.

"That's right, if you're not strong enough to pull them to this world, they pull you to theirs where the only thing you're generally good for is food."

"Why would anyone even want to try to summon one of those things?"

"Because some people love the taste of power," answered Draco solemnly. This made the entire class glance back at his apprehensively. Ron glared at Malfoy from his seat next to Lavender, he had his arm around her shoulders in a small attempt to comfort her.

"The last person to successfully summon a Demon was Merlin. Others have tried, but as far as anyone else knows, they didn't succeed," added Hermione, who was sitting next to Harry.

"Of course not, Granger. The dominant species of the world used to be Angels and Demons until humans began growing in masses. Then they all disappeared off the face of the earth."

"They did not disappear! The Angels retreated to a more peaceful place and seven of them sent the demons into a void."

"My point is that the only beings known to have any power over the Demons were Angels and the most powerful wizard in history!"

"What would the purpose be of summoning a Demon," asked Remus. He was trying to keep the conversation going and not allow Draco and Hermione's discussion to turn the classroom into a war zone.

"To kill people. A lot of people," Neville said. That Neville Longbottom, the yellow bellied lion of the Gryffindors would have any kind of input on the subject was a little disconcerting. Since when did Longbottom have valuable facts about anything other than herbology? Then again, he was a Pure Blood too.

"May I ask why so many of the Pure Blood students know about these particular creatures?"

"Pure Bloods are the only ones that go back far enough to know what Demons are really like," Draco said, looking at the top of the desk. "When the master drops the chains… They tear countries apart."

Silence of past fear fell upon the class and Lupin was beginning to wonder just how bad of an idea this had been when Seamus raised his hand, intent on asking a question. "Yes, Mr. Finnegan?"

"Why would Merlin want to bring a Demon to this world?"

"He did not summon one Demon. He summoned an army of at least four hundred to fight against a dark wizard's guild of that time. They had just begun learning how to make Dementors and there were thousands of them."

"They can fight Dementors?"

"They don't fight them, they eat all of the memories that the Dementor has ever taken into itself. Memories are part of the soul and Demons eat souls," Nott told the Irishman with a sickening kind of glee about him as he did so.

Seamus shivered in his seat and Dean would have made a joke of it if he hadn't gotten a jolt of fear himself. Harry was still listening intently to the people around him, god help him if he ever met a Demon. It'd probably devour him in a second. He hadn't missed the looks that Remus had been giving him the whole time. Just then class ended, everyone grabbed their bags and left. Ron and Hermione stood by the door waiting for their third person.

"Come on, mate."

"You two go ahead, I need to talk to Remus." They left him in a quiet conversation about something, he couldn't quite hear what. The lycanthrope was still sitting in his chair. His breathing was slightly labored and he looked sick. "You kept looking at me through class. If you're concerned, I'm not planning on summoning one. I'm not strong enough anyway."

"That, Harry, is completely untrue. You're far stronger than you know. I don't believe that you have made any plans involving Demons."

"Alright then, why are you still in class Remus? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I would be but I'm needed more here. I have a guest coming, I'll see you tomorrow Harry." This was Remus' way of telling him that he should leave and Harry was smart enough to pick up on it. Closing the door behind him, Harry heard someone talking around the corner.

"I just don't understand," shouted an angry young man.

Harry made his way to the corner where he peeked around to see who was talking. It was a fifth year Slytherin boy, and he was not unattractive from what Harry could see. He had hair black like ink pushed to one side of his face. His eyes were like liquid caramel and he had a fair complexion. He was definitely shorter than the person he was talking to: his head was tilted upward.

Harry inched closer trying to see who the other person was, his curiosity peeked. He justified this by telling himself he didn't want to walk out now and interrupt something important.

"I told you, Israfil! I don't want a relationship. It was convenient, that was all," shouted the other, who was clearly a man too, but his voice struck a chord of recognition in Harry. He knew the person.

"So I was your whore? A fucking toy," the boy shouted indignantly.

"Take it that way if you want to. Just don't bother me anymore," the familiar voice said with a true ring of nonchalant aggravation.

"Fine! I hope that when you fall in love it's the most horrible experience of your life," declared the infuriated young man. He stormed off, down the hall that the taller one was facing. Harry flung his back against the wall when the person began to turn around. Holding his breath he listened to the footsteps as they came closer. When they rounded the corner he found himself looking at a very surprised Draco.

"Potter," he asked as though he weren't sure of what he was seeing.

"Hello, Malfoy. Um, excuse me," he stuttered, trying to slide past but the blonde was having none of that. He threw his arm out connecting the palm of his hand with the wall making a resound slap that filled that empty hall.

"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation just now," Draco inquired with a deadly eye.

"No! Well, I didn't mean to. You shouldn't have private conversations in the middle of the hall," he protested, a little red in the face at being accused of such a thing.

The aristocrat sneered, "I was ambushed! He was waiting for me outside the door."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't sleep around!" There it was again, he was letting it turn into one of their fights even though he had decided, indefinitely, not to fight with Draco Malfoy anymore. He couldn't really help it, something about the blonde stirred up his blood more than any other and all he could think to do was fight.

Said blonde floated malevolently into Harry's personal space, their faces two inches apart. Draco said in a voice that actually made Harry shiver in fright, "Watch it, Potter."

Before he stalked away, leaving Harry riled. He turned on his heels, storming up to Gryffindor tower and then the room he shared with the others. It was only when he was in his bed that he berated himself for the whole event even happening and swore, again, not to fight with Malfoy. …Without being invited first.

The door to Remus Lupin's office opened with purpose, the one having pushed it open striding in with the same effect.

"Hello, Severus," the professor greeted from his seat.

"Are they all gone," he asked looking around for students.

"Yes, the last one just left," answered the werewolf. He would have offered Snape a drink had he not been in too much grief to stand. "Is everything ready? It has to happen tomorrow night. I worry that if we wait something will happen and we may never get another chance."

"Of course, everything is ready. You know that if he was anyone else he would die merely attempting this," stated the Potion master.

"I know, but I believe that he is strong enough. He has no idea what he's actually capable of, Severus. Besides, if we don't, I fear that he will die anyway."

Morning broke through the curtains as Harry's dream began to come to its close. He was thrashing about in his bed. _Voldemort was at his back, no more than five steps away from him. He dug in with all his might, pushing himself as hard as he could. The only thing in his mind was, "Run faster! Run faster! Run faster! Why can't you run any faster?"_

_His nemesis was closer now. He was at the very limit of his human speed and still not quick enough. When he was suddenly on all fours, accelerating faster than he ever had before. He could feel the presence of the other fading behind him as he bolted through the forest as though it was his home and he had done so many times before. The wind wove through the hair that covered his body. He saw the edge of the darkness. In one great bound he broke through the trees and into the light._

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was panting like he really had run as he had in his dream. He felt a sense of relief and slight anger. The relief he understood, but not the anger. He would have to think about it later, he needed a cigarette.

The day went on as usual, Draco hadn't been atop the Astronomy Tower and he hadn't seen him since their encounter the night before. Speaking of which, the argument was what was on his mind all through breakfast and the rest of the morning. Finally, in Herbology, Hermione decided to find out just what was making her friend so pensive.

As she scooped fresh soil into her pot of Wolfsbane she glanced at him, "What are you thinking about so much?"

The emerald-eyed boy picked weeds out of a random pot. The gardening that his aunt had forced him to do had taken residence inside him so it was almost compulsory. "…I had another dream."

She looked at him with interest, pushing some of her bushy hair out of her face with the back of her hand. "Well, what happened?"

"It's hard to describe. I want to talk to Luna about it, she understands dreams pretty well."

"Okay," she said nothing more as she watched him examine his own Wolfs bane briefly before deciding that it was doing well enough. He was really thinking about something and it was no dream. Dreams had a different effect on him than whatever he was thinking about. They made him broodish and almost twitchy in his anticipation for them to become true. What he was thinking about made him stare off into space with a frown on his face.

"Harry," he looked at her with an absent stare. "I know you're not thinking about your dream. What's really in your head?"

"It's nothing." She thought, again, how he still looked so dead and empty, but she noticed the slightest of gleams in his eye.

"It's something, it's always something. What happened in Lupin's office?"

"I thought he suspected that I was going to summon a Demon. I asked him about it and he said that he knew I wasn't. That was all."

"Harry, even you're not stupid enough to summon a Demon. Of course he would know that. What else?"

He didn't say anything. Harry grabbed the watering can and almost drowned his plant in irritation. When he saw what he was doing he huffed, "I overheard Malfoy after I left. He was arguing with another Slytherin, he called him Israfil."

She pulled a stool over to their counter, sitting on it she asked, "What were they arguing about?"

"Apparently, Israfil was a little pissed with Malfoy after they slept together and Malfoy didn't want anything to do with him when it was over."

"What's bothering you about that? Everyone in Hogwarts knows that Malfoy can be a bit of a slut and he's not nice about anything."

"I didn't- I don't know. I just …didn't know he went both ways."

"Oh, well, does it bother you?"

"No, I'd be a hypocrite if I judged him for that and was okay with Seamus, Dean, Sirius, Remus-"

Hermione held up her hand to stop him, "I get it, Harry. A lot of the people you know are gay."

"Luna, Tonks, Cho-"

"Okay, I get it. So, what bothers you about Malfoy," she asked, shifting in her chair.

"I don't know. It's not really that, we had an argument after the other guy left," he admitted.

"About what?"

"I guess that I was eavesdropping and he's a slut."

She stared at him quietly for a minute and then announced, rather plainly, "You need to find a better hobby, Harry."

At dinner everyone was in a slightly better mood and Luna was almost bursting with happiness. That trippy, nearly blinding happiness that radiated from her like a star. She glided to the Gryffindor table as though she were on a cloud. "Hello, everyone! How are we doing today?"

They looked at her just a little strangely, wondering what on earth could make her so bubbly. Harry answered, "Things are okay, Luna. Why?"

"Oh, you'll see. Don't forget to meet Remus by the Dark Forest tonight."

Harry nodded as though he knew, although he had been told no such thing. It was then that he felt something in his pocket that hadn't been there before, pulling it out he saw that it was a note to him from Remus. He didn't even bother to open it, since Luna had already told him what it said.

Across the room Draco was glaring at the two, not so much the blonde, even though he thought she was insane. The daggers from his eyes were really directed at the raven-haired boy next to her. What business was it of Potters if he had an affair or two? It wasn't! The prick.

It was then that he heard something like a whisper in his ear, "_Don't forget to meet Remus by the Dark Forest tonight._"

If nothing else, people could say that he was determined. Despite being offended and raging mad at the Golden Boy he had taken the opportunity, when he was only inches from him, to put a 'Listen In' charm on Harry. He was just lucky it hadn't been a hex. So tonight he would follow Potter to the forest to meet up with the professor. What would the chosen one and a werewolf be doing in the Forbidden Forest on a full moon?

The sun had long set when Harry reached the edge of the forest, concealed in his father's old cloak. Just inside the line of the trees, Remus stood talking to someone that Harry couldn't see. Turning around he greeted his student, "Hello, Harry."

He took the hood off of his cloak to reveal his head, which seemed to be aloft in the night air, "You startle me when you do that, Remus. How did you know?"

"I could smell you. Come, there's much to do and not much time to be doing it in," he turned back around, leading Harry into the woods. The other person was walking a good ten steps ahead of them. The thunder growled above them, the sky was nothing but clouds that resembled great black sheep. Harry knew that this was the only reason Lupin wasn't a werewolf at the moment.

"Who is that ahead of us?"

"A friend," was his simple answer. They kept on, past trees that had been there long before any man. It was after ten minutes of walking without hearing anything but the thunder and wind that Harry noticed the lack of life in the forest.

"Where are all the creatures? They're usually not very friendly about people being in here."

"We have made arrangements so that they will not harm us. Besides, they don't want anything to do with what we're doing," Remus commented as Harry looked around for the scary things hiding in the dark.

"And just what are we doing," Harry asked as he climbed over a particularly large root that came all the way up to his middle. When he had made it to the top of the root he saw a large flat surface that was like the black depths of night. A large trinity knot had been carved into the ground. The other person, standing at the far end in their own cloak so Harry couldn't see their face, pulled out a long steel sword.

Harry turned to Remus then back at the cloaked stranger. The stranger turned out not to be a stranger at all as they pulled the hood of their black cloak away from their head Harry saw the face of his potions teacher. The man said in a monotone voice that made Harry think that he was joking while knowing that he was speaking the truth, "We're making a Demon."

The two older men took their places at two of the ends. Harry stood back staring at the ground and at the men, "Why would you want to summon one of them? What makes you think I can do this? I'm not strong enough to do this!"

"Harry, we know that you're leaving Dumbledore. We're very happy that you're making your own decisions for once. We would have taken you from him and your relatives long ago but none of us had the strength to protect you from You-Know-Who. Not like Dumbledore did. You're going to have to protect yourself and the people that will follow you. You're going to need help and this is our best option. Demons are more than just corrupt souls, Harry," Remus said with understanding. The way he spoke made Harry a little less wary and a lot more intrigued. This was what he had been waiting for; help to achieve what the world wanted from him. There was no way to escape the burden and still no way to do it alone.

"Where do I stand?"

Remus smiled a little, he pointed at the third end of the knot instructing, "Over there."

If this worked, he would have an ace that none of his enemies would know about. If it didn't, well, he supposed that the world would be doomed. How mellow dramatic was that?

"How do we do this," he asked as he eyed the symbol and the sword held in Snape's right hand.

"We will spill your blood into the center where the three parts intersect, then mix it with Lupin's blood once he has turned into a werewolf. I will call up a chant. When the beast has risen you do exactly as I say," Snape directed.

Harry numbly nodded his head. He turned to Remus, "Are you sure I'm strong enough?"

Snape scoffed like he was sick of hearing one of his students complain about an assignment, "Potter, you possess far more power than you know. This won't kill you."

Harry took into account that the man probably knew what he was talking about. Taking his place he noticed that the carving in the ground was actually smaller than he had thought. If he wanted to, he could touch either of the others by simply reaching out his arm. Severus held out his hand, silently asking for Harry's right. Harry gave it to him.

"This is going to be very quick, don't stop or fumble. Be sure in your actions, speak with authority. This thing is going to belong to you."

Harry gave the professor a small glare to show that he wasn't stupid or weak. Placing the edge of the blade against the boys palm the older man cut the skin deep making it flow with crimson. The blood fell to the center but did not touch anywhere outside of its designated space, turning black as shadow the instant it hit the ground. The land around them began to glow in the light of the moon, three heads turned toward the sky. The rolling clouds of brutal black ink parted just enough to let the moon shine upon them though there were no stars.

Remus howled in agony as his body morphed before them. Turning and twisting in a grotesque fashion that did not become any being. Once the change was whole Severus sliced a huge gouge into the werewolf's side. He gave an angry growl but did not move. Whatever was happening with the spell seemed to be keeping him in his place. Harry's frantic heart pounded against the cage of his chest. The blood cascaded to the ground, flowing in the grooves from Lupin to the center, mixing with Harry's as though it were paint.

The thunder subsided for only a moment as Severus parted his lips to speak words that none present had ever heard before.

"_Exorior creatura of damno_

_Emerge ex obscurum_

_Take is cruor _

_Esisto reus ut verstri vinco ferratus of vita"_

The blood bubbled and rolled, moving as though it were alive. Thunder roared like a lion enraged, wind threatened to become a vortex but none of the wizards noticed. They were too focused on the thing that was emerging from the puddle of blood. First it was a hand, pale as a corpse and thin as bone. The hand was followed by another, then the arms, a head and the rest of a body that seemed to have been stretched out its limbs and torso were so long. The body was hanging in mid-air, draped in robe like garments of black mist. The hair was the vibrant red of blood falling to the claves and obscured the face.

Snape yelled, "Draw the sword through your left hand and impale its heart!"

Harry did not fumble or falter, he soaked the blade in his blood and thrust it through the Demons' heart. The body made no show of pain or discomfort, it hardly moved at all. No blood spilled from the cut either, Harry wondered if it really was a corpse. In his head he heard a voice, a quiet instructor. He heard words whispered in his ear that sounded like the language Severus had just spoken and knew that he was meant to speak them.

"Now-"

"_Vestri vita est mei_

_Meus nex est vestri"_

The beast looked up from where it hung, he could see its eyes of red and its blade sharp features that made it seem more real than him and all the more difficult to look at. When he averted his eyes from the burning stare he saw the blood from which the Demon had emerged begin to rise. Up to the very beast that it had spawned, the black slid against its skin, weaving crude intangible markings around the wrists and ankles, then the heart where Harry had impaled the monster. They settled, forming tattoo like markings on the skin. The ravenet was too absorbed in watching what the black blood was doing to the thing in front of him that he didn't notice when it began to flow through the grooves in the ground that lead to him. It jumped to his left hand like an animal at the sound of a gun.

He screamed, half in pain half in surprise when it began to wind its way around his palm. Healing the wound he had inflicted on himself and making markings not unlike those now on the Demon. After the blood had made its brand Remus gave a prideful howl, the Demon slumped onto the ground and the rain began to fall.

In the shadows of the forest no more than twenty feet from the ritual, Draco Malfoy, the Prince of Slytherin, shook in horror. It was the most terrifying thing he had seen in a long time. He watched in morbid fascination as the werewolf fled into the forest. The only two humans there stared after him and the thing that lay at their feet, completely lost at what to do now. Eventually, they picked the thing up and tried to make their way back to the castle. He stuck close hoping that the creatures that hid in the dark would leave him alone if he stayed close enough.

When they made it to an even deeper part of the forest they stopped without warning. Both Harry and Draco wondered why since they were not anywhere special from what they could see. That is, until Snape ran his hand down the trunk of an oddly small oak sapling. The mossy ground before them rose until it towered over their heads and before them stood a door. Harry and Snape entered immediately, while Draco waited outside.

"What is this place," Harry asked as he looked at his surroundings. It looked like the dungeons of Hogwarts but he was sure that they were too far from the school for that to be possible. The walls and floor were a cold, gray stone. The walls looked damp with roots from the many surrounding trees weaving through old cracks. The only light was a torch that had lit the instant they entered, which hung on the wall a little further down.

"This is an extended part of the dungeons. It was used as a torture chamber when the school was a castle. It has long been forgotten," the potions master said as he led Harry further down the hall while trying to help carry the Demon. Well, it wasn't the first time he had been wrong.

"Are you sure Dumbledore can't hear us in here?"

"He can't hear us. I found it when I was a student. I have put many charms on this place. If anyone was listening in, I would know," he stated as he came to a stop in front of a particularly large cell. He placed the legs down for a moment to dig a small key out of his pocket. "Here, we will chain it to the wall. You can come back for it in a couple days."

He swung open the door and grabbed the legs again. They hauled it inside, in the farthest corner from the door where chains attached to the wall and floor. Laying it down, they began to put shackles around the wrists and ankles. "Why are we chaining her up?"

"How do you know it is female," asked Severus who was a little perplexed, they had not seen any distinguishable evidence that it was either sex.

"I don't know how I know, I just do. Now, why are we chaining her up?"

"When it wakes up it will be thirsty and angry. We don't want it finding a way to the school so it can drain you," the greasy haired teacher explained. Had Lupin taught them nothing yet, he wondered in annoyance as he cast spells on the chains to improve their strength.

"Drain me," Harry asked in a slightly worried voice. Had all the life been drained out of him? What had happened to that stupid irate Gryffindor to make him so monotone? It was just like Black to leave a disaster wherever he went.

"It's going to drink your blood to keep its strength. Hasn't Lupin taught you anything," he asked with a bit of malice in his voice.

"We just started," Harry said in defense of the werewolf that was running around the forest at the moment.

He stared at the thing before him. He wasn't sure what it was but there was a deep attachment that he felt between her and himself. It wasn't love or anything remotely like that, it was more like deep seeded knowing and loyalty. Like the way one would feel toward a brother or sister. You know them in the same kind of way you know yourself and would jump to their side if they needed you. Harry couldn't understand why he would feel like that toward a Demon but he knew it was there, just like he knew that he had heard a voice in his head while summoning it. This part disturbed him greatly, but he wasn't going to mention it to Snape; the man would declare him insane without question.

Snape stood and Harry followed suit, "Let's go before our absence is noticed. We've already spent too much time in this condemned forest."

They left the cell, Snape locking it behind him. Instead of heading back to the door the potions master lead his student further into the tunnel. Harry remembered Snape saying that this place was an extension of the dungeons.

"Where will we come out," the raven asked as he listened to the heels of Severus' shoes clacking on the stone floor. There was no light now and all Harry could hope for was that Snape knew where he was going.

"We will enter from behind a statue in the Slytherin common room, now be quiet. These walls are only so thick," he snapped as they came to a stop. Harry heard Snape touch the wall lightly with his hand saying, "Azrael."

The stone moved forward and Harry could see again. He had only been there once before but he recognized the decor. The stone cold atmosphere, green and black all over the place. They stepped out from behind the statue, the commons room was empty. Snape strode toward the exit, followed closely by Harry. Taking one look back the young man noticed that the statue hiding their entrance was a tall man in a black robe holding a rather large snake.

When they were outside, Harry had to take a deep breath. This was definitely one of his stranger nights. The portrait swung closed after them. "Who was the man in that sculpture?"

"Orphiuchus, the Serpent Barer. He is a monarch to the Slytherin house. Go to your room and sleep Potter. On Sunday we will return to your Demon," he instructed. Harry left, thankful to be away from the man that hated him so much.

The room was fairly quiet; the only real sound was Ron's snoring. The raven threw his cloak into his trunk, pushed off his shoes and crawled into bed. He was exhausted but couldn't quite fall asleep. Holding his left hand in front of his face he re-examining the markings on his hand. They seemed so foreign against his skin the swirling design reminded him of the instant when their eyes had met. Like it was more real than he was. Eventually, Harry didn't have a say in the matter and his body fell into the darkness of sleep.

_It was the Forest again. He was already running, running as fast as he could. He could feel the being that was chasing him. Pushing himself harder and harder, he was soon on all fours again. Running with a freedom man could never know. Then he saw something red out of the corner of his eye. Looking over, he saw a wolf. It was half the size of a horse but their eyes met. The fur and eyes were the deepest pools of red he had ever seen. It seemed to smile at him as they ran faster and faster into the light._

Harry woke with a gasp, he felt winded again. These dreams of his were becoming stranger and stranger. He sat up to inspect his surroundings. Ron, Neville and Dean were still sleeping soundly or, in Ron's case, snoring soundly. Seamus then emerged from the bathroom in only a towel with his hair still wet. Looking to his friend, who was now getting out of bed he said, "Oh, mornin' Harry. More crazy dreams?"

Harry looked at the Irishman that was now sifting through his trunk for some lazy day clothes. "How did you know I was having weird dreams?"

Pulling out a gray t-shirt and old jeans, he scoffed, "We've been living in the same room for six years now. We can usually tell when your dreams are about stranger things than getting busy with some bloke you saw in London."

Harry blushed a little, "How can you tell?"

"You're more distressed when you wake up and your bed looks like you had a fight with a werewolf in it," he said as he pulled his clothes on. The brown haired boy didn't mention the screams that sometimes woke him and the others. Harry grabbed his toiletries and went to the bathroom.

"Thanks, Seamus," he said with a bit of sarcasm, but no bite. While he was brushing his teeth, the brunet came in, sitting on the counter next to him.

"So, what was your dream about?"

Harry spat in the sink and rinsed it down, "Running in the Forest."

Seamus made a face clearly illustrating that he knew that wasn't all. "That doesn't sound that bad. I've had that dream before."

"Voldemort was chasing me," he said as he finished up and started to walk away from the sink.

"Harry!"

The black haired head whipped around, "What is it?"

"Your hand," he said, pointing to Harry's right. He lifted his hand, realizing that he hadn't healed it the night before after Snape had cut it. Glancing at the sink Harry saw a patch of red liquid that was like a beacon on the white porcelain.

"It was an accident. Cut it on some sheers in Herbology," he lied smoothly.

"I didn't notice it at dinner. Here," taking the hand in his Seamus pulled out his wand. "_Episkey!_"

The wound heeled most of the way. Harry opened and closed his hand, still a little sore but not bad. "Thanks, Seamus."

"Not a problem," said the Irishman while he watched his friend go to his own trunk for clothes. "Harry, Harry, Harry, didn't anyone teach you how to dress?"

Said boy looked up at his friend who snatched the old red jumper out of his hand. The black haired youth was wise enough to stand back while Seamus raided his trunk. When he finally emerged holding a black turtleneck and trousers Harry raised his eyebrows in slight disbelief.

"You'll look great in it. Trust me," he vowed as he walked toward the door that lead to the commons room.

"What were you planning for today," Harry asked while he pulled the tight clothing onto his person.

"Not much, just a little fishing," Seamus said with a sly grin. The boy was always looking for a conquest, he rarely found one but he was always looking.

When he had managed to get his clothes on, Harry had to admit that he looked pretty good. Grabbing his cigarettes and lighter, he made his way to the Astronomy Tower. He wasn't alone today, Malfoy sat near the edge with his legs dangling precariously as he looked into the distance. He wore a white button down with the same black slacks as Harry.

The raven walked up to the other as quietly as he could, when he was standing right behind the snobby blonde he said, "Are you stalking me?"

Draco jumped like a rabbit shouting, "Fuck Potter! Are you trying to kill me? I could have fallen off this bloody tower. Fuck."

The blonde placed a hand to his heart to try and get it to slow down. Harry laughed a little, which made Draco glare. "Answer me, are you fallowing me or is it a coincidence that you seem to be everywhere I am?"

"Are you really that full of yourself?"

Harry had to take a moment to bite his tongue so he wouldn't say anything rash, and then decided to ignore the comment. Lighting his cigarette and taking a drag he said, "Guess so."

The blonde looked like he had just been slapped in the face. "What the hell's wrong with you, Potter? You should have thrown an insult back at me, not taken mine like it was nothing."

"Don't feel like fighting. I'm too tired."

This nonchalant Potter was starting to get on Draco's nerves. The prick thought he could ignore him, huh? "What if I am following you?"

"Then I'd have to ask why," he said. He inhaled a bit more of the nicotine when the slender stick of tobacco was snatched from his lips and thrown over the edge. He looked at Draco, "What the hell was that?"

"I told you not to smoke those cancer sticks around me," Draco said with an arrogant authority.

"You never said anything to me about smoking near you."

"I told you last week that second hand smoke is unhealthy!"

"So I'm supposed to assume that you don't want me to smoke around you," Harry said with slight disbelief. The blonde gave him a look, clearly communicating, "Duh."

"If you hate it so much why don't you leave? It's not like you're doing anything up here other than pissing me off."

"How do you know that I'm not doing anything up here, Potter? And I want to know how the Golden Boy of Gryffindor picks up smoking," he shouted. They were face to face again and Harry was beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic since he could tell that neither of them was going to back down until there was no space left at all or one of them attacked the other.

"You've got your quirk, I have mine," Harry said with meaning. Draco understood what the raven was implying instantly. The bastard was calling him a slut.

The blonde jumped backward a few feet to give himself room. Once he was on his feet he shouted, "_Duro!_"

Harry managed to jump out of the way of the spell. This was the invitation he'd hoped for, an opportunity to take out his frustration. Without hesitation he shouted, "_Incarcerous!_"

Draco tried to dodge but was caught by the shoulder. Rope wound around him from nowhere instantly, making him fall to the stone floor. "You'll get yours, Potter! I'll make sure of it! _Defingo!_"

The ropes fell to the ground in tiny pieces. Clearly, Harry had pissed the blonde off when he had tried to bind him. Harry was actually having fun; he was more alive than he had been in months. The irate Pure Blood before him bolted up casting a flaming spell at him that he managed to stop with Aguamenti.

Glaring at each other, they froze for all of two seconds before they shouted, "_Stupify!_"

"_Expulso!_"

"That's enough," shouted a third party that had just made his way up the stairs of the Tower. Severus Snape silently negated both attacks by the young wizards. The two stood before their teacher knowing that they were in deep. "What do you think you're doing? It's barely morning and already fighting. Twenty points from Slytherin and fifty points from Gryffindor."

"Fifty! What for," Harry demanded. Snape strode to him, with a flick of his wand the cigarettes were out of Harry's pocket and into the professor's hand.

"Smoking on school grounds is prohibited, Potter. Detention for both of you, tonight." As he walked away they both tried to start in on him but he turned around so fast it was amazing that he wasn't experiencing whiplash. "I will expect you in my class room at seven tonight. Both of you."

Far from the Astronomy Tower below Hogwarts a creature of dark being stirred. Turning her head she examined her surroundings. What a strange place to be. A dungeon? She sat herself up to lean her back against the cold stone wall. When she moved she noticed the chains that had been placed on her.

Moving a corpse like arm to examine them, she mumbled, "Humans are so foolish."

Even with the spells cast upon them the Demon could break the metal chains as easily as a child could a stick, but her master had put her here. He must surely want her to stay for a reason and if she wanted any hope of being fed she would stay. The thing examined herself in the darkness that did not hinder her sight. She hadn't possessed a solid form in millennia. After a few movements were made, she decided that it would take a little getting used to.

As she closed her eyes to think about her situation a unique scent wafted by her nose. It smelled of snow, lilac, and magic. She took a deep breath of the aroma, listening as the being came closer to her cell. In the dark that she was home in she could see a small blonde witch standing at the barred door. Smiling like a wolf she said, "Hello, Bath Kol.

* * *

A/N: The first chant, Snape, Latin to English translation, "Come forth creature of the damned Emerge from the darkness Take this blood be bound to your master in chains of life"

The second chant, Harry, Latin to English translation, "Your life is mine My death is yours"

The password that Snape uses to get back into the castle through the secret dungeons, Azrael, is the name of the angel of death.

The symbol used for the ritual is a Trinity Knot, most often seen in Christianity and Paganism.

Israfil- An Angel whose name means 'the burning one.'

Orphiuchus- A constellation and famous character from Greek mythology. After his wife died, the man entered the underworld to bring her back. She said she would follow him if he promised not to look at her until they reached the surface. As they drew close and light filtered down, he looked back to see her rotting corpse. She screamed and fled back into Hades, Orphiuchus never saw her again.


	3. Wait and Bleed

Chapter Three: Wait and Bleed

Slipknot

The sun was setting outside of Hogwarts as Harry reluctantly made his way down the dark dungeon halls to the Potions room. Opening the door he saw the very reason for his presence already sitting in his usual desk with Snape at his own. "How nice of you to join us, Potter."

Harry walked to the front of the classroom a desk away from the irritated blonde, who glared at him as he sat as though them being there was his fault. Snape stood, standing in front of them he said, "Tonight your punishment is to spend the night together cleaning the cauldrons. I know that there is nothing that either of you detest more than being in the presence of the other. There will be no magic and no sleeping until the work is done. I've had enough of your childish fighting. I will be back for you in the morning and I expect every cauldron to be spotless or you will both serve detention for a week."

With that said he strolled out of the room, his cape billowing behind him. He had a stupid Gryffindor werewolf to find.

The two boys watched their teacher leave Harry vaguely made the connection in his head between Snape's cape and Batman. This made him laugh to himself a little, which only served to make Draco more irritated than he had already been.

"What is so bloody funny, Potter," he snapped.

"Nothing, Malfoy." Harry was irritated that he had been forced into detention when he could have been setting up a meeting with Ron, Hermione, and Luna. He went to one of the many caldrons stacked against a wall. The prissy Slytherin probably wouldn't help him clean any of them and he wanted to be done as soon as possible. The raven took a rag and bucket of soapy water that had been left behind. As he began his work the savior wondered what he should do in regards to Lupin and Snape. They clearly knew about his plans or the basics anyway. He wondered what else they knew and how much they could help him.

It was only a couple hours and five cauldrons later that he noticed someone approaching him out of his peripheral vision. He turned his head to meet the hot eyes of Malfoy. He considered what he could say ultimately deciding it was better not to say anything at all, turning back to his work. The other boy was still angry and talking would only make it worse.

"Are you ignoring me now, Potter?"

"I thought that was what you were doing," Harry answered coolly.

Draco hughed, "You're taking too long. If Snape comes back and this is finished he'll probably let us go."

"You mean you. He hates me and will make me stay here, claiming I started it."

"You did."

"I didn't do anything. I went to the roof to smoke." Harry believed that he was actually being very reasonable, if Draco had just left him alone none of this would have happened.

"Whatever, can't you work any faster?" Draco didn't want to spend his night in the Potion's room, and not with Harry. Unless the git had decided to arrange another meeting with his friends, which Draco doubted he would have been unaware of, but it was still possible.

"I'm working as fast as I can. If you helped maybe we would finish by the time he checks in on us. If he does."

Malfoy just stood there for a minute as though in shock. Considering his options he went back to sit on the desk. Harry worked for two more hours scrubbing at the terrifying messes, some of them he was actually able to identify as Neville's. When he had finished his eleventh cauldron he reached to pull the next over to him only to find that it was clean. Thinking that he had accidentally grabbed one that he had already finished with he went to another, but that one was clean as well.

It only took Harry a minute to realize what had happened. Turing to the blonde who was almost asleep in his chair he said, "If you were going to decide to use magic anyway you could have done them all."

"I did my half," he answered snidely.

"Eight isn't half." The raven-haired boy walked to his own desk. The hand that had been healing hurt but hadn't gone raw. Draco didn't say anything, just stared off into space until he couldn't stand the suffocating silence anymore.

"Why were you smoking? Shouldn't the Golden Boy of the Light be saintly or something?"

"It gets rid of the stress, Ice Prince."

Draco scoffed, he would have been insulted if he didn't actually like the name. "I'm hurt."

It was then that the door opened, revealing their professor. Draco brightened immediately standing while Harry reluctantly did the same. Snape marched to the cauldrons to inspect them. "I see you've finished. I have cots for you outside the door, bring them in and make your beds."

"We cleaned them, what-"

Snape sneered at his godson saying, "Cleaning was only part of your punishment. As I stated before, you will spend the night together in this room. If one thing is out of place when I return in the morning you will both be cleaning this school top to bottom for the rest of the year."

Knowing that their professor was always serious with his threats the two boys grabbed their cots from outside the door and rolled them out on the stone floor. Snape left to attend to Lupin immediately, but only after giving the boys the evil eye. Draco was very put out. He had hoped to get out of this situation. The only pleasant part of it was that he didn't have to spend his night shadowing Potter, as the boy was right next to him. That was possibly also the worst part.

Out of pure boredom, Draco conjured a few butterflies with metallic wings. They flew around for all of thirty seconds before attacking each other viciously, tearing at each other's wings and bodies. Harry watched without any expression on his face. "That's animal cruelty."

Draco scoffed, "They're conjured. They aren't real butterflies."

"They still feel pain though don't they?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The snake that you conjured in second year wasn't real but it was still making its own decisions. Doesn't that make it real?"

"Yes, that's another thing. How is it that you speak Parsaltounge," the blondie asked as he vanished the brutal butterflies. Harry was taken slightly off guard. He didn't think it was a good idea to share his connection to the Dark Lord with the son of one of his most avid followers.

"I don't really know. I didn't know it was that rare until I was told."

"You really are an idiot aren't you," Draco said in disbelief at the lack of knowing the so-called savior had of his own world.

"I'm not stupid! How can I learn anything anyway when people are always throwing me in the dark?"

Malfoy sat quietly for a moment contemplating the rhetorical question. So that was how it was? The people that were supposed to be helping him weren't really helping at all. This was strange to the blonde but severely irritating to the Slytherin in him. "So what if they're hiding things from you. That's just like you Gryffindors; people have to scream it in your face for you to notice. If you want to know so bloody bad, Potter, then why not find things out for yourself?"

"I'm working on that," he muttered more to himself than the only other person in the room. His eyes were dark and distant as he thought hard about his plans to destroy his enemy and protect people important to him.

Draco didn't miss the comment though, and found himself slightly relieved. That the raven was trying to make a bit of his own way proved that he wasn't as codependent as he seemed to be. There was something else bothering him though, he wanted to know what the darker boy was planning to do with that thing he and Severus had taken underground. It wasn't likely that Harry would even consider telling him since Dumbledore found it such a wonderful idea to have everyone think that Draco was still in the shadows of the Death Eaters. Suddenly, he was staring into hardened emerald eyes. He felt a tiny wave of fear at those eyes run through his mind, making him arch his shoulders in a slightly animalistic way, like trying to ward off a predator.

"I want to make a deal with you, Malfoy. If I answer one of your questions you have to answer mine." Draco was shock and thrilled, this could make a lot of things very easy. The only problem was that with the way Potter's eyes were stabbing into his he knew lying was out of the question. Severus had told him about the Occlumency lessons from last year. He didn't want to be mind raped like that.

"Okay, but…you have to make a wizard's swear that it will stay between us. I don't need you spilling any of my secrets to the school."

"Likewise," Harry said in a mild tone. He clearly expected Malfoy to tell other people, like Voldemort. Thank Merlin he was at least a suspicious git if nothing else. They clasped each other's hand as though they intended to shake but instead recited, "I swear not to reveal anything said tonight to any other."

Wispy tendrils of red magic flowed from their hands to each other, binding their promise. The instant it was over they dropped their hands. Sitting on their makeshift beds the boys stared at each other for a while, not sure which of them should go first. Finally Draco leaned forward demanding, "Say something, Potter!"

Harry sat without saying a word. It disturbed the Malfoy, the way Harry wasn't reacting in his usual way, how he seemed dead. Eventually he said, "Why are you following me?"

"Orders."

"From who?"

"Nuh uh, my turn. Why are you leaving your beloved Dumbledore?"

Harry was still stone faced, "It's my best option. Staying with him and his Order could get a lot of people killed. Now who are you working for?"

"Myself. Wha-"

The ravenet held up his hand, "That's not a real answer. Slytherins are always working for their own interests. I want to know who instructed you to follow me around."

Draco seethed a little and hoped that no one would hear him when he whispered, "Dumbledore."

Harry was a little surprised but not nearly as much as Draco had expected him to be. After taking a second to process the new information the slightly older boy nodded his head. "I see. He wants-."

He jumped up from his spot. He didn't know if the headmaster knew what Draco had just told him but he wasn't taking any chances. Grabbing a piece of paper and a quill from Snape's desk, he returned to the confused Malfoy. He quickly scribbled, "_Don't say anything else. He can hear whatever you say in this school. Why are you doing what he says?_"

Draco quickly read the letter and understood. He grabbed the quill from Potter's hand, writing, "_I don't want to die for that lunatic. I won't bow down to him either. I have more dignity than that. My turn: What were you, Lupin, and Severus doing last night? I saw that thing you summoned. What the hell are you going to do with that thing? By the way, your hand writing is horrible, Potter._"

Harry gave an almost playful glare at the snotty blonde, which made Draco smirk. He took back the long black quill, "_Well yours looks girly. I'm surprised that you followed us into the Forest. You were so scared of going in there first year I never thought you'd go in there again. As for the Demon…I haven't made any solid decisions yet. And, it wasn't my idea. Remus wanted me to summon her He said something about her protecting me. Will you come with me to the Shrieking Shack tomorrow night?_"

Malfoy stared hard at the words in front of him, he had scowled when he saw the girly comment but after that his face had become rock. He held out his left hand, silently asking for Harry's just as Snape had. Again he gave it to the other person who turned it over in his hands examining the markings. Harry could tell that he was concentrating very hard on the elegantly tinted flesh. After a few minutes he dropped it like it was tainted. "You're crazy."

The lithe body of the young Malfoy stretched out on his bed, turned away from Harry. The raven didn't ask any more questions. Instead he lied down himself and, after a few minutes of gazing into darkness drifted, off to sleep.

_He was running through the trees. A glimpse of red, the wolf was on his left. Their pursuer was closer than usual, moving faster. There was a glimpse of white on his right flank. Another wolf joined them, running just as fast. Harry looked at it and met silver eyes. He gasped in recognition though his conscious mind couldn't identify the familiarity. The three ran and ran through the trees and over the leaf covered ground. He could feel them, more predators. They were gaining on them. Faster! Faster! Too late._

Harry shot up from his bed with a gasp. His wide green eyes darted around the potions room looking for threats that weren't there. Then he saw movement, flourishing his wand he had nearly cast the spell when he heard, "SHIT, POTTER, IT'S ME!"

He stopped what he was doing, seeing clearly a terrified Draco Malfoy backed under a nearby desk. The black haired boy had to blink a few times before he spoke. "Malfoy?"

"Yes! It's me, now put that bloody thing down!"

Harry obeyed, still trying to sort out exactly what had happened. "Why are you under a desk?"

"Well what the bloody hell do you think? Hiding from you!"

"Why? What did I do?"

Draco couldn't help but here the tone of awareness in the Gryffindor's voice and wondered if he threatened people with his wand in his sleep often. "You started to have a fit in your sleep. I was going to get Snape because I'll be damned if I'm blamed for your death and I didn't do it. Then you shot up, pulled out your wand and started to cast Avada Kadavera on me. What the fuck's wrong with you?"

Harry sat, not exactly stunned but certainly disturbed. He faintly remembered attacking Ron in the Burrow once when he had had a particularly horrible dream. The red head had been edgy the rest of the week. "Sorry."

"You could have killed me and all you're saying is sorry?"

The raven sighed, "What would you like me to say?"

At that moment Snape burst into the room. "What happened in here?"

The boys said nothing for a moment and Harry wondered it Draco was going to tell Snape that he had threatened the blonde. It would have been complete shit, but this was what he expected from the other. Malfoy crawled out from under the desk he had previously been under to stand in front of his teacher. "Nothing, sir. Potter just had a nightmare."

Severus looked from his godson to Harry. "Potter, come with me."

Harry stood, following his teacher into the corridor. The second the door was closed Snape said, "What happened? What did you see?"

Harry didn't say anything for a moment instead he cast a silencing charm around them as a small attempt to keep Dumbledore out of the conversation. He wouldn't be able to do it all the time but the fact that he knew the old man was listening to him without his permission pissed him off. "I realize that it probably won't have much effect on his ability to hear us but it makes me feel better."

"He might not even be listening, did you think of that? Answer me, what happened?"

"I had a dream that Voldemort was after me," Harry admitted and was relieved that Snape tensed only slightly rather than cringing at the name. That was possibly the only thing the young wizard liked about his teacher.

"Was it one of your foresights?" Of course Snape would know about those. It only made sense really.

"I don't think so. It keeps happening though." The young Gryffindor was dubious about sharing his dreams with Severus Snape but was already beginning to make plans for the potions master. "I'm in the Dark Forest and Voldemort starts to chase me. All I do is run but I had that dream for weeks. The next one, I turn into something with four legs and fur. In that one I get away. In the third there's a red wolf running next to me and we also escape. But just now, there was a white wolf too. I knew him but I can't remember who he was. In that dream…I don't think we made it."

Severus was quiet only for a moment. "It's morning now, your detention is over. Tonight we will retrieve your Demon."

The tall black haired man stepped away and the charm was broken. Harry thought that something, anything more would have been said. Perhaps he should speak to Luna about the changes in his nightly mirages. Draco walked out of the room, completely ignoring Harry, while the other just stood in deep thought. After a few minutes he went off to find his Ravenclaw friend.

It was only after extensively searching for the better part of two hours that he was forced to admit that he had no clue where she was. Making his way up to the Gryffindor Tower he saw Ron, who was pacing in the hall not far from where Harry knew some of the Gryffindor girls liked to sit near a large window. He stood very quietly, watching his friend murmur to himself.

"It'll b-…. -. Ye… c… thi-"

"What was that Ron?"

"Ahhh," the red head shouted in surprise as he shot into the air. He jumped so high that, for a second, Harry thought he might actually launch himself straight into the ceiling. "Bloody hell, Harry. Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, what were you doing," he asked as he watched his friend twitch a little.

"I don't know any more. I – urgh." Ron was clearly beyond the depth of his experience in whatever he was doing. Harry had gotten so sick of the tip toeing tactic to things he had decided that the cutthroat way was the easiest.

"Are you waiting for Lavender?"

Ron's face turned bright red. "Not, waiting so much as… Trying to- uh."

Harry almost wanted to laugh but he didn't. It would have made Ron feel like even more of an idiot and he would have stormed off with an attitude. "You can just say it, Ron. I'm not gonna judge you."

The youngest of the Weasley boys looked at his best friend and felt like he was about to collapse from the weight of all the stress. For a moment he marveled that Harry was able to stand there smiling at him when he had it so much worse. These brief moments of true insight were rare for Ronald, but they did happen. In fact, it was because of one of those instances that he was standing where he was. "You remember last year when Lavender was dating Terry Boot?"

"Kinda. It was a busy year."

"She's really lonely, Harry. I think she's sad."

"Why do you say that?"

"We worked in potions together once, she didn't smile much. At first I thought it was because she was disappointed about being paired with me but… I don't know."

Harry recognized the sincerity and concern on Ron's face. He knew that the red could be difficult to deal with and a little self-centered, but he was a good person. He cared a lot about people that he knew and it would seem that Lavender Brown had fallen into that group. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. Help me, Harry."

He was dumb struck for a second. Really, what did he know about situations like this? "Um, I guess you could ask her to go to Hogsmaid with you. The trip is in a couple weeks."

Ron nodded deep in concentration, he was still worrying and thinking. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Thanks, mate."

"Yeah, have you seen Luna?"

"No," was all that slipped out of Ron's mouth as he marched over to the group of girls. Harry hoped it went well and left. He was starving and the best place for him to get some food at the moment would be the kitchen. It was a brief walk down, after tickling the pear he stepped into the brightly light room. The house elves greeted him as he sat. It only took a minute for Dobby to find him.

"Hello, Master Potter. What can Dobby get for you?"

Harry really worried about that odd stack of hats sometimes, he was positive that Dobby used his own magic to keep them from toppling over but still. "I don't really care, I'm just hungry."

"Some porridge then? It will fill Harry Potter's stomach if he has no taste for anything else."

"Porridge is fine." The little elf scurried off to fetch the food. Harry was so tired, the dreams were really interfering with his sleep. He had bags under his eyes and they looked even more sunken than before. He thought that perhaps it was all making him anemic and then decided that he had to find a way to sleep soundly or he would be of absolutely no use at all. He would have to ask Snape for a sleeping draft, the mere thought made him groan in aggravation.

Dobby came back with the porridge and set it before the Gryffindor. An eerie silence followed and Harry noticed that all the other house elves were keeping their distance and watching him as though he were a lion that might decide to gobble them up in a moment. "Why are they so nervous? I'm not hungry enough to eat them."

Dobby immediately dropped his smile, his large ears pulled back. He looked something like a dog that was afraid of its master. "Harry Potter has been in the Dark Forest." He glanced at Harry's left hand then ripped his eyes away. "Harry Potter has brought something to this world. It is a dark thing that should not be here."

"How do you know about that?"

"We house elves know about the things that lurk in our homes. It is awake. It waits for you in the old part of the dungeons that belong to Professor Snape."

Harry shifted in his seat. "Does anyone else know about that place?"

"No, sir."

"Not even Dumbledore?" Dobby shook his head to indicate a no. Harry thought and then considered that the old man probably hadn't put any spells on the kitchens. Most people didn't know how to get in or didn't bother most of the time and what could house elves be talking about that would be of any interest to him. Harry felt an intense form of ease swallow him when he realized that he didn't have to watch every word that left his mouth.

"I'm doing my best, Dobby. I'm trying to do what I have to."

"Dobby knows Harry Potter does these things for others. That is why Dobby worries." The mismatched house elf nudged the bowl closer to Harry and left. Harry ate in silence and a peace he had nearly forgotten.

When he left the kitchen it was almost seven o'clock. The sun was hanging low in the sky and most of the students had gone back to their dorms. As he walked down the hall Harry felt completely alone, as though he were the last person on the planet. This allowed his mind to slug along in the process of making plans for the next couple months. First he decided that having Malfoy around could prove useful. Draco was far more experienced with dark magic than he or anyone else, possibly even more so than Snape.

It was as his mind was lost in his musings that he started to walk down to the dungeons. He didn't notice right away but when he did he decided that it wouldn't hurt to see where he had been going. Something was tugging him further into the bowls of the castle. Further and further he went until he found himself standing in front of a large painting of a man with long oil black hair, pulled into a knot behind his head. The eyes were like green venom burning into Harry. He hissed his every word as he asked, "What do you want?"

Harry couldn't think of how to possibly answer that. He didn't really know what he was doing in that part of the castle in the first place. The tugging tried to pull him further, like it wanted him to go through the painting. It was then that he remembered it as the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. "I need to go in."

The painting seemed shocked, "You are a Gryffindor, what could you possibly want here?"

"There's something that I need to get."

"Something and not someone? I don't know what makes you think I will open for the likes of you but-"

"Serpens!" The man in the painting suddenly stopped talking, ignoring Harry all together to glare at the person that had interrupted him.

"What do you think you are doing young Malfoy?"

Draco walked up to the portrait looking highly annoyed. "I am going into my dorm. Is there a problem with that?"

The man sneered, "And do you intend to bring that boy in as well?"

Harry said nothing as he watched the man and Draco have a silent argument. The portrait swung open reluctantly, the blonde motioned for Harry to stay where he was. The black haired boy listened from where he stood in the hall. He clearly heard Draco command that everyone leave immediately, a few seconds later he came back for the Gryffindor.

"You better have a good reason for being here, Potter," sneered the blonde. Harry looked around for the statue, when he spotted it he marched over without even looking at Malfoy. Draco followed because he was curious and wanted a fucking "thank you". "Don't you have anything to say?"

Harry was a statue himself, trying to remember how to open the door. He placed his hand on the carved stone whispering, "Azrael."

Orphiuchus slid forward and the boys were forced to either move or be knocked over. When Draco saw the tunnel he realized what it was, where it lead to, and just what was in there waiting for the young man next to him. "No, no way Potter. You can't go in there without Snape."

The savior wasn't listening though, he was already walking into the black depths of the tunnel. Draco was left with the options to either run and get Snape or follow Harry and make sure the idiot didn't die. As he had said before, he would be damned if he was going to be blamed for their hero dyeing without having been the one to do it. So with quick strides he plunged into the dark.

"Potter? Where are you?"

"Shhhh," Harry whispered. He was walking with one hand on the wall to make sure he didn't take a wrong turn or crash into anything. It really wasn't necessary though, the pull was bringing him to where he was supposed to go. After a short while he started to hear a sound. Humming he thought, hoping that it wasn't the voice in his head again.

"Do you hear that?"

"What? The creepy humming of doom or your breathing? Yes, I hear it! It's not like there's any other sound down here."

Every word was spoken in hushed voices. Draco was having a bit of a problem staying with the Gryffindor. He was walking like he could actually see in the dark, which left Draco stumbling to keep up. As they came closer to the melodic sound they started to see a blue light. It glowed and pulsed like a _Lumus _spell but no one else should have been down there.

Harry and Draco were just in front of the cell when they heard, "Oh! Hello, Harry."

Both the boys shouted in surprise. But can you blame them? Who in their right minds would have suspected that Luna Lovegood would be sitting in front of the cell holding a Demon in a tunnel under the Dark Forest? Granted neither of these young men is in any kind of right-minded state to begin with, but you know what I mean.

"Luna? What are you doing here," asked a startled Harry. The girl stood from her sitting position. She cast a spell to light the torch so they could all see.

"I came to keep her company while she waited."

Both Draco and Harry stared at her for a long moment. "How did you-"

Harry stopped Draco's questioning with a look and a shake of his head. Questioning the blonde girl about how she knew things or why she did others was just not something you did. It usually leads to nowhere. Not for the first time did he think that she looked like Alice from Wonderland but acted more like the Cheshire cat. "She's awake?"

Luna nodded, stepping aside so Harry could look at her. She was still a living corpse dripping with blood and shrouded in black mist. Her hair was out of her face and her robes hung from her shoulders. The demon stood on the other side of the bars, when she saw Harry she bowed low. "Hello, Master."

Harry didn't really know what to do. He had been brought here, but now what was he meant to do? Luna stepped closer to whisper in his ear, "Let her out."

He pulled at the door that should have been locked but slid aside with ease. Stepping out of her prison he realized that she was actually slightly taller than he was. "Um, what's your name?"

She didn't blink. "I don't have one. You haven't given me a name."

Her voice was the sound of the Forest above them. Right there and far away at the same time, it would have been musical if not for the creepy calm that filled it. "Oh, uh, how about …Exosatratus?"

"Draped in black, to be in mourning. That's very fitting, Harry. Now, Draco and I will be leaving for a moment," she said as she grabbed his hand and started running down the hall.

"Wait, why," he shouted after them.

She stopped and looked back at him. "Because, she's hungry."

Harry watched the little blonde girl and Draco's frightened face disappear into the black. He turned back to the benevolent being feeling awkward. "So, uh, how do you…?"

She didn't move; he was almost certain that she wasn't breathing. After considering how to go about it, she said, "Show me the arm that bears my mark."

He lifted his left arm up for her to inspect. She held it in her own then pushed his sleeve down just enough for his wrist to be exposed. Exosatratus looked up at her master but he made no move to stop her and so she plunged daggers of fangs into his arm. Harry bit his lip to keep from screaming in pain. She drank her fill in a matter of moments. Pulling away she touched the still bleeding wound with her own hand. When she removed it the punctures had closed. Harry took a minute to examine his own arm, truly amazed. What had happened officially made it onto his very long list of 'weird.'

Looking back up at her ghostly face he asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

He nodded to himself, walking down the hall toward the Slytherin dormitory. Just before he entered the dark Luna reappeared with a slightly shaken Draco close behind her. "Good, now let's go to the meeting. They're waiting for us."

She turned around and glided away, her wand still glowing. Harry put his hand on the blonde boys arm. "Malfoy? Malfoy! Draco!"

"I hear you, Potter!" He took one big breath and began to follow the glowing light. Harry was right next to him with the demon close behind.

* * *

A/N: Exosatratus is Latin for "mourning, to be draped in black".

Serpens- password to Slytherin Dorms, the constellation of the Serpent


	4. Sleep kind of Perfect

Chapter Four: Sleep Kind of Perfect

Armor For Sleep

They had walked for more than would have been necessary to get back to the school. Draco had said that they were lost at least twenty times before they had remerged in the basement of the Shrieking Shack, at which point he had shut up. It was very dark in the old house but they could see a light through the cracks in the floors that must have been coming from upstairs. The four made their way up as quietly as they could on the old stairs. Harry expected to get an earful from Hermione when they got there but, when they got close, there were more voices than just two.

Harry opened the door to the parlor, his eyes met with the sight of Dean, Neville, Ginny, Seamus, Ron, Lavender, Hanna, and Hermione. All of them were seated in various places in the room. When Harry stepped inside, Ron turned slightly red in the face and stood up to face his friend. "Ron?'

He raised his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. You said that you couldn't do this alone. It's gonna take more than just us to kill V-V You-Know-Who."

"That's right and we want to help you, Harry," declared Seamus. Though he was deeply touched the black haired savior didn't want more people there, he didn't want them to die. Despite anything he wanted he knew that it would be impossible to turn them away now.

"You didn't say anything in the school, did you?"

"We used some parchment and burned it after." Of course, he should have known that Hermione would think of that. He then thought of the parchment in his own pocket and made a mental note to burn it as soon as possible. A noise from the hall reminded him that there were other people waiting to come in.

"Oh, uh, I brought some people too." He moved to the side and Luna skipped in, plopping on the biggest chair in the room without a care. The people in the room looked at her, but she was clearly not who he meant. After a moment of silent anticipation the young Malfoy strode into the room.

There were collective gasps before there was an all out riot. Everyone was shouting and barking questions. He whispered to Harry, "I can't wait to see how they great your monster."

"Everyone! Quiet!" The room was still. "I know that this wasn't something you expected, but Malfoy is here to help. He has sided with the Light."

"We can't trust him. What about all the things he's done to us over the years? You're gonna forgive him for that," demanded Ron.

"We need his help! Look, Malfoy is a part of this now so deal with it okay?"

The red head didn't say anything. He didn't have to for Harry to know that this wasn't the end of it. Draco just smirked and stepped aside for the next new comer. Harry loathed announcing the new member that would surely be even less welcome.

"Exosatratus?" The hall was a void in the night, only a little of the light in the room had spilled out of the door. Nothing happened for the thud of a heart then one pale foot appeared in the light just outside the door. It led another and they both stepped closer. Her body was pulling out of the shadows as though they were water. Even when she had fully emerged her garments still trailed behind her in the dark. The occupants of the room had all gone pale with wide terrified eyes.

"H-Harry, do-do you know what that is," stuttered Hermione. She was standing and backing away from the monster.

"Yes, she…belongs to me." Saying that he had possession over another life felt so deep down wrong that he wished he could reach into the air and snatch his words back the way he did the Snitch. But the words weren't tangible so once they had left his mouth there was no way to take them back. Even Harry could see that braver people were reaching for their wands. "Don't attack her. It won't do any good."

This didn't dissuade them from raising their wands before them. She was under no threat from them, standing her ground and effectively ignoring their encroachment. "Harry, how could you bring something like this here? Do you have any idea what it could do to you?"

He was suddenly angry, shouting, "She has a name! I know that you don't want Exos or Malfoy here but I need them. They could be the only things that allow us to win. I didn't ask for any of you to be here and if you want to leave now feel free to go."

He moved to the side, now standing next to Draco. No one moved toward the door. Exosatratus placed herself on the other side of the frame. Dean stood up, always the loyal friend that would speak the truth no matter what. "Harry, we trust you, even if we don't trust them. If you're really going to fight the Dark Lord then we're going to be there with you. Not even a demon can keep us from helping you."

He was immensely touched and for the first time in a long time felt that he wasn't a lone figure standing in a shroud of dark nothing. He was not alone. Then he heard a not so discreet cough from beside him. Draco, having gathered the room's full attention said, "That was very touching, I think I may be sick from it. Now, can we get on with this business?"

The others seemed to regain their focus and sat so that they were all facing Harry again. Draco, not so gently, pushed him forward. He was not quite sure what to say, speaking because he felt he should. "Thank you, for staying and coming in the first place. Hermione, did you tell them everything else already?"

"Yes."

"Good, then you know what I want to do. We will spend the next few months training and getting ready. I would like us to meet here every weekend until we can find a better place. You all know about Remus, so if it's a full moon don't expect there to be a meeting at all. I think that's all for tonight."

Most of the people present stood and started walking out the door, if that was all then that was all and they were tired. Draco didn't go anywhere though. Harry had to send Ron and Hermione away so that he could talk to the blonde in private.

When all but the demon in the corner were gone Draco finally spoke. "Riveting speech, Potter."

"Shut up, I'm tired." Draco watched as Harry sank into one of the vacated chairs and found himself believing the Gryffindor. It seemed clear to him that Potter hadn't actually slept in a long time.

"You're really going to trust me?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Draco scoffed, "I've never been kind to you. What makes you think I won't turn on you once I know all your plans?"

Harry smiled. "Because, Slytherins hate serving others. Someone like you would rather die than obey him, right?"

The blonde looked into emerald eyes that slowly pulled him into their depths, making him feel helpless. He had to look away to break the trance. "You are right about that. Shall we go then?"

"You want to walk with me?"

"Of course not, but I don't know these tunnels and would rather not spend a large portion of my night lost in them."

Harry stood and led Draco down into the tunnel. The demon never fell far behind, always in the shadows just within reach. They had just crawled out from under the tree when they saw the two dark cloaked figures. They stood, ready for a fight when Harry heard a familiar voice.

"Harry!"

"Remus?" The figure to the right removed its hood, showing the paled face of Lupin. The one on the left then removed his own to show the form of Snape.

"Where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere. Why is Draco Malfoy with you?" The werewolf was almost irate with anxiety. He had probably been going crazy with worry since he had started looking and been unable to find his dear friend's son.

"Calm down, Remus. I had to go get her."

"Who," he asked, as he looked around for another person that he couldn't find.

"Exos." As he answered Remus the monster emerged from the hole in the ground, giving off the distinct image of a corpse emerging from its grave. She walked forward until she was flanking Harry on his left side. Remus and Severus stared at her, clearly on guard. She bowed to them though it was slighter than her bow to Harry had been.

Snape's eyes jumped to the young Gryffindor. "You went to it alone? Are you trying to kill yourself? It could have devoured you!"

"I wasn't alone! Luna and Draco were there," he said defensively.

"And what good would they do if it decided that you would make a better meal than a master?"

Exos opened her mouth to speak and the quarrel stopped instantly. "We do not attack our masters. It would be foolish to do so. It would defeat the purpose."

"What purpose?" Remus asked. He may have been the only person other than Harry that wasn't terrified by the mere idea of being near the thing.

"If my master allows it, I will discuss it with you later." She then fell silent, waiting for her master's instruction.

Snape, seeming to have recovered from the disclosure, set his attention on Draco. "And you, Draco. What are you doing with Potter?"

"I'm sick of this cloak and dagger nonsense. I'm not going to become a Death Eater but I don't want to be shackled to that crazy fool either."

"Don't assume that you know so much. He isn't a fool and if you defect to Potter's ridiculous pursuit he will know."

"Severus! I will do what I want. Not you, mother, nor father will tell me what I am to do with my life."

The Slytherins glared at each other for a full minute before Snape seemed to decide that if his godson was going to be part of the war it was best that he be nearby. "Fine. Have your parents been told?"

"They know nothing."

"Keep it that way. It would seem there is nothing more to do tonight. Go to your rooms." He turned and started to walk away.

Remus turned to his students. "I'm sorry Severus is being difficult. Harry, I think it would be best if you started training tomorrow. Meet me in the same place as last after dark. Mister Malfoy, it's a pleasure to have you with us."

While Draco was standing in shock from the polite welcome, Harry called out, "Remus! You and Snape are friends?"

He stopped, nodding, "Yes, have been for a very long time. I'll see you tomorrow."

The three made their trek to the school, hiding in shadows as best they could to avoid anyone that may find them. When they reached two staircases that would take them each to their dorms they stopped. As Draco took a step intending to continue Harry grabbed his arm, "Come with me tomorrow."

"What would make you think I wouldn't? If I'm going to do this your way I'm going to be there for everything. I want to know what's happening, whatever it is. If you keep secrets from me, even once, you'll regret it, Potter."

Harry smiled a bit, "Okay. Good night, Malfoy."

"Go to bed, Potter," he scolded as he descended to the dungeon. Harry went to his own room, Exos with him.

Everyone had already returned and collapsed on their beds, too tired to wait for him. He walked to his own, as he sat on the edge to remove his shoes he remembered the demon. "Oh, um, where would you like to-"

"I do not sleep. You may sleep," she said as she looked out the window toward the horizon.

"Okay, good night." She didn't make any indication that she had heard him, she just looked on. He lay on his bed, relaxing for a moment then turned over to fall into unconsciousness.

_Harry was standing in the Forest again. Always the Forest. There was nothing in the dark this time, nothing trying to catch him. He was merely standing, waiting. It wasn't as dark as it had been before, as though the moon might have been shining enough to allow him to see. There was a sound ahead of him, coming closer to him. When it finally emerged he was almost sick. _

"_Sirius?"_

_The man smiled, "Well don't look so happy to see me."_

_Harry fell on his hands and knees, sure that he was going to be ill. He was shaking with the effort to keep it down. He had never dreamed of Sirius other than the one time that had doomed him to death. All he had were the memories of him dieing over and over again into nothingness. The raven didn't think he could bear to see his godfather seem so alive. _

"_Harry, I need you to listen. Whatever she tells you, trust her. It might sound crazy, but do it. She knows more than you or I could ever understand."_

"_Sirius," he choked. Finally able to look up the world dimmed until it was almost black and suddenly burst into light. _

Tears were flowing from his eyes when they opened to the bright room of the Gryffindor boy's room. Neville, Seamus, Dean, and Ron were standing around him with worried faces. He noticed that Exos was still standing at the window. He sat up, "Did I wake you?"

They shook their heads to indicate 'no'. Neville leaned a little closer, "Did you have another dream?"

"Yes, it wasn't Voldemort though." He rubbed the tears away, embarrassed to have been seen crying. "I saw Sirius."

None of them said it but there was an almost tangible, "Oh."

"Are you gonna be okay, mate," Ron asked. Harry said that he was fine and they should all get ready for breakfast. When they were gone he looked at the demon. She hadn't moved at millimeter since he had spoken to her the night before.

Without budging she whispered, "Who is Sirius, master?"

Harry didn't want to talk, what he would have given to drop the conversation. "Sirius Black was my godfather."

She didn't say anything after that, his tone indicating that he didn't want to talk about that person. She would have asked one of his friends but they wouldn't tell her if she asked. Perhaps the angel would be willing to part with the information.

Draco had been sitting in the disgustingly red chair for all of ten minutes and was already set to throw a tantrum. He had received a note late last night demanding that he be in the headmaster's study early in the morning and the old man wasn't even there yet. He spent his time looking at the dyeing bird perched in front of him while he contemplated how to make Dumbledore's life most miserable.

As a small sheen of light flowed into the room from the window, it beamed into the would-be eyes of the sorting hat. It yawned, grumbling as it did, Draco paid it no mind.

"Mmm, yes, you are the Malfoy that I placed five years ago. Things are going well for you I hear."

Draco ignored the hat.

"Stuffy as ever, Malfoys always are. I wonder how the Halfling is doing. It's been sometime since he visited this room," the hat commented in almost innocent manner. The blonde wasn't ignorant enough to ever assume that the hat was innocent though.

"What Halfling," he drawled, only half interested. Perhaps a little conversation would fill the time gap.

"The Potter, he wouldn't listen and look where it has gotten him. He would have been better off in Slytherin." The hat was obviously annoyed at being ignored even after so many years.

Draco would have gasped in surprise if he hadn't been brought up better. He sat perfectly still, not giving away any information the sorting hat could eventually relay to Dumbledore. It was just like Potter though, to go against common sense and damn the consequences. Still, what idiot would go against the sorting hat? It told you your house for a reason not because it thought you'd look cute in the colors.

Finally, the ancient wizard stepped out of another hidden door. "Thank you for coming so early, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure you are hungry so let's begin. How is Harry?"

"Same as he was last week and the day we came in on the train: a depressed little git," Draco bit out. The fake cheer was irritating at best; this early in the morning with so little sleep it was enough to justify murder.

"What has he been up to? They aren't continuing with the DA I imagine," the old man stated as he took his seat. The blonde wanted to set him on fire but thought better of it. Deciding that he would find the opportunity another time.

"I'm not sure what they're doing, whatever it is they keep going into that Forest and I won't go in again." Through a great deal of experience he had come to find that half truths almost always worked better than outright lies.

"That is alright, I'll send Severus in. I doubt Voldemort would go into those woods again, he should be safe there."

The aristocrat knew that the headmaster wasn't talking about the potions teacher. The old man was very good at his guise of concerned elder. If not for having grown up with the ultimate deceivers Draco might have fallen for it himself. He tolerated Dumbledore for a few more minutes before he stood to take his leave.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy! You wouldn't know anything about that odd storm a couple days ago would you? Was Harry out in the forest that night?"

"No, sir. He was skulking around the halls. I should know, I followed him all bloody night."

"What was he doing in the halls?"

"I don't know, maybe he was looking for a late night fuck," Malfoy nearly shouted before storming out. He did manage to hear the wizard tell him to keep close to Harry even as the stone floor began to close behind him. That's what he was doing, wasn't he?

The Great Hall was packed as usual, Harry was hardly present though. He was barely able to do more than stare into his porridge he was so tired. His friends were aware of his state, but they weren't quite sure that he was in a mood to be told what to do. No matter how clear it was that he needed sleep. Luna sat at the Ravenclaw table sliding a slightly worried look in his direction every once in a while. Harry was aware of their eyes on him, it would be impossible for him not to notice even if he were asleep.

It wasn't until breakfast was half over that Draco stormed into the room. He sat between Pansy and Blaise, ignoring the looks he was also receiving. He poured himself a mug of coffee and began to drink, discarding the cup after two swallows.

When he stood Pansy grabbed his arm, "Draco, what is it?"

"I'm exhausted and that sludge isn't doing any good. I'm skipping my classes today. If anyone asks tell them I have a cold," he instructed as he walked away. He only made it out of the doors when he was stopped again, this time by Granger. The irritated blonde turned to her, "What do you want?"

She didn't flinch at his tone or even look hurt. He had called her far worse things, she would not be bothered by such trivial actions. "Please, will you take Harry with you?"

"What?"

"He doesn't like to listen to other people when it concerns his health. He needs rest, at this point I'm afraid I don't care if you knock him unconscious. Just, please, make him sleep," she pleaded. She hated to have to ask something so important of someone like him. Unfortunately, it was the only thing she could do short of going to a professor and that would only make matters worse.

Malfoy scoffed, "What makes you think he'll listen to me? It's not like I can persuade him to do anything."

"I doubt he'll listen, but you would have the best chance of forcing him to."

Draco sighed a sigh of responsibility, possibly for the first time in his life. Just like Potter to not take care of himself and leave other people to do it, he thought. "Fine, make it quick though."

Hermione nodded, dashing off to get her friend. She was gone only thirty seconds when a stumbling Harry Potter came out of the doors. He looked a little frantic, rushing to Draco like there was some kind of problem other than his personal state. "Hermione said you needed to talk to me about something important."

"Yes, follow me." The Gryffindor didn't question anything that was happening as he followed Draco all the way down to the dungeons. The man in the painting only glared at them as he swung open. Once they had entered the room Draco shared with Theodore and Blaise, Draco locked the doors and cast charms to silence sounds coming into the room. When he went for the lights it became clear that the Gryffindor was now a little nervous and he stopped.

"Make yourself comfortable and take the bed in the corner, over there," he gestured vaguely as he removed his shoes.

Harry continued to stand where he was, "Why did you bring me down here?"

Draco was a little annoyed. "To sleep. Blaise won't mind if you use his bed. He doesn't seem to hate you like Theo does."

"You brought me down here to sleep?" The bastard actually sounded incredulous.

"Yes, you can hardly stand. I don't know what you where thinking even trying to go to your classes like that but you're going to sleep. When the lights are off there's no light of any kind, the walls and charm make it impossible to hear anything. You'll be fine."

"You would sleep in the same room as me even after I almost killed you the last time?"

Even if he did have a point, Draco knew Harry was just trying to get out of sleeping. "Just do as you're told. I have permission from Granger to knock you out if that's what it takes so go to sleep."

"No," the ravenet stated simply, leaving no room for debate.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why won't you just rest?"

"Because! Every time I try I have a dream and they all make me want to never sleep again!"

"What do you dream about that's so damn bad," Draco shouted. He had stood so he was toe to toe with Harry. The blonde was getting in his space, making the darker step backward unconsciously.

"Dieing and the dead and pain! There's always something. The last time I slept I saw Sirius!"

Draco stopped just one step from making Harry fall onto the bed. He could see the pain in the green eyes and it scared him a little. Not as much as the pulling sensation from before had, but still. "You loved him."

"He was the best thing in my life and he's dead because I acted stupidly. I won't let anyone else die because of me. That's why we need to train. So we're ready for anything. And when it comes, if I have to die to save everyone else, that's fine."

That angered the Slytherin beyond anything else Harry had ever said. As the thin boy swayed with the effort to keep himself up, Draco raised his hands to the chest that was only a little broader than his own. "No, it's not."

One shove was all it took to send the Gryffindor falling onto the mattress. Unfortunately for Draco, Harry was still conscious enough to make the effort of grabbing something to keep himself up. The blonde fell hard, onto the body of his onetime enemy. Harry groaned from a sharp elbow to his stomach.

"You're a pain in the ass sometimes. You know that," Draco inquired, rolling to the side with the full intent of going to his own bed.

Harry was faster thought, sliding his arms around the blonde, pulling the warmth closer. A soft, "Yeah," left his lips as his mind disappeared.

Despite his weakened state Harry clung too strongly for Draco to escape. He resigned himself to his position after a few minutes, casting a spell to turn off the lights. He closed his own eyes, taking comfort in knowing no one would find them.

Hermione sat in her Advanced Transfiguration class, wondering if Malfoy had succeeded in getting her friend to go to sleep. McGonagall was talking about the animagus that each person had inside of them. Of course, since meeting Sirius, animagi seemed to be popping out of nowhere. She had played with the idea of their group finding their animagi, certain that it would prove useful in many situations. The problem was getting everyone to that point of the meditation and some of them might dislike their animagus enough to deny its existence.

After her Transfiguration class, Hermione went straight to Potions. It was another advanced class and she was one of five Gryffindors that had even opted to take it. There were a few Ravenclaws and the rest were Slytherins. Setting her books down, she looked around to see who she could partner with that day. It was then that she heard the scraping of chair legs against stone. Looking to her left she found herself facing Blaise Zabini. Before she could even ask why he was sitting next to her Snape strolled in.

"Take out your cauldrons and the following ingredients. Today, you will make Princes Poison," he said as he scribbled on the chalk board. When he turned back to the class his eyes flew to the Gryffindor, Slytherin pair and stopped. "Where is Draco, Zabini?"

"Sick, he has a cold," Blaise lied with ease.

Snape scoffed, knowing why his godson was really not in his class, but he wasn't going to chastise the Frenchman for it, he would yell at Draco later. He still found it odd that the black haired boy would choose to partner with Granger. Perhaps he intended to join their little army. It didn't really matter, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to hear anything in his classroom that he didn't want heard and, besides that, it wasn't likely that Draco had any intention of leaving without his own followers.

The two worked together in silence for only a few minutes, mixing and measuring things for the potion. Hermione had the natural need to know things; this is how she knew that the answer to 'why' tended to be a lot more important, and more complicated, than anything else. "Why did you choose to pair with me?"

"You looked like you needed someone. If you want me to leave, say so now so I'll have time to make my own batch," he stated, almost off handedly.

"Oh, no. I just, you usually don't come near Gryffindors."

"I usually have Draco but today he needs his beauty sleep. You shouldn't worry about Potter, by the way, Draco will take care of him. He doesn't hate him as much as he seems to."

"I don't get the feeling that you do either," she said bluntly.

"Nah, I don't have a reason to hate him, or even dislike him for that matter. Though his personality does make it easier for him to piss us off," he admitted as he started to grind the dried fairy wings.

"How do you know Harry's with Malfoy?"

"I'm a bit more observant than you might think. Besides, a blind monk could see how exhausted he was. If Draco gives him any potions you should make sure he takes them. He's very good at this stuff."

"Okay, thank you." She slowly stirred three times then set it to a low flame. As she watched it simmer she felt the hair move over her shoulder. There was a slight breath against her ear as he whispered into it.

"I do want to know what it is you're up to that keeps Draco out so late. Are you all planning something big?"

He had moved away only enough for her to feel comfortable breathing again. There was a dusting of pink in her cheeks that she knew was there but refused to acknowledge. "How would we know we could trust you?"

"Why don't you have your Golden Boy look into my head? I hear he does that really well."

She glared at him with fully red cheeks. She knew the guilt Harry felt when he used Legilimency on people, it wasn't something to joke about. "Fine, ask your Ice Prince to bring you with next time. I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind seeing what's in your distorted mind."

She bottled the brew and left, only stopping to grab her books.

Luna stood on the very edge of the Astronomy Tower, looking into the distance. Her skirt whipped in the wind that had picked up around her. The blonde leaned forward just a little more and found herself pulled away in seconds. Neville Longbottom had grabbed her around the waist, away from the edge.

She didn't giggle at his expression of panic, though she did find it a little amusing. "Are you okay, Luna?"

"Yes, I'm alright. I wasn't far enough to fall, but thank you for your concern," she said as she parted herself from the nervous boy. Seeing his Astrology books and papers scattered around the entrance, she went to help him retrieve them.

"The clouds will be here in a couple hours. You won't be able to see the stars for long."

"I know, but if I don't do it I won't finish the homework. I don't want to go back to the dorms anyway," he admitted as he looked down.

Luna smiled at the shy boy, "Why not?"

"Because, that thing might still be there."

"Oh, she's not there right now, she's near Harry. You don't need to be scared of her you know."

Luna started walking along the very edges of the tower again, teasing gravity. Neville worked as best he could while keeping an anxious eye on the Ravenclaw. The sun set quickly and the stars shone brightly above them. As Neville worked Luna danced along the edge. The wind picked up and the clouds started to crawl closer.

"Time to go inside," she announced.

"Luna? Do you think I should stay with everyone else? I'm not as strong or smart as Harry or Hermione. I'm just not as useful, I'd drag them down."

"You are too useful. Ronald is commonly useful only because he's loyal and courageous. You know many valuable things that no one else knows. You are an important person to us." She looked up, "Oh, you may want to bring those inside now."

He grabbed the papers as fast as he could and dashed inside. He looked through the door at the blonde girl, who was twirling in utter bliss in the down pour that he had barely missed. "What are you doing?"

"I love the rain, it's like dancing in melted snow. You can go back to your tower."

He looked only a second longer, shaking his head in confusion, then left. The girl never made any sense. She did see things that others didn't, that was clear. Maybe he should trust her and stay, until she was proven wrong.

Harry nuzzled closer to the warmth he was clutching. The warmth groaned, rather loudly. The black haired boy blinked until his eyes cleared the fog of sleep. Breathing in deep he inhaled the scent of sandalwood and vanilla, he sighed and cuddled closer.

"I know you're awake now."

The warmth spoke. "Draco?"

"Yes, now will you let me go," the blonde asked just more than he demanded. Harry released him, not completely sure why he was in a bed with Draco Malfoy. Draco sat up, stretching as he pleased.

Harry rubbed the sleep gunk that had collected in the corners of his eyes, his hand also brushing a trail of drool that ran down his chin. There was a small spot of it on the pillow too. He cast a quick cleansing charm to clean whoever's pillow he had drowned.

"So, what did we do last night?"

"…Are you joking? You were so exhausted you can't even remember coming down here? Or clutching to me through thirteen hours of sleep? Or that it was this morning."

Harry's brows furrowed then, his eyes grew a few sizes too big. "Thirteen hours?"

Draco glanced over his shoulder at the young man still lying in the bed. "You know, it almost doesn't surprise me that you find that more surprising than that you clung to me the whole time."

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"Don't bother, your apologies are lacking. Well, you don't look like the monster's cousin anymore," he informed Harry as he grabbed new cloths.

"Thanks," Harry said sarcastically as he tried to fix his own cloths to look like he hadn't fallen asleep in them. "Is it dark yet?"

"Do you see windows? It's about eight o'clock so, yes. I would assume it's dark."

"Damn, we're late. We have to go to my room," Harry moved to leave. Draco flew to the door, putting himself between it and his guest.

"If they see you they'll have a fit. Besides, there are some of them that aren't under my influence and they will tell my parents, not to mention a lot of other people that should never know that you were in my room." He took away the charms so that he could now go out. "Stay!"

Harry stayed just as he was told, listening through the door as the Slytherin prince banished his disciples without any hesitation. Once the room was cleared, Draco retrieved the smirking Gryffindor, dragging him through the portrait and down the hall.

"What's so damn funny?"

"Nothing," Harry said behind a snicker. Draco had no idea how amusing it was to observe him exerting his power over others. Like it was the most natural thing in the world, even though it was becoming apparent that he wasn't always like that.

Arriving at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry readily gave her the password. Unlike the other painting, she gave them no trouble. She did, however, watch Draco until the very moment she swung shut. "What's her problem?"

"She doesn't trust you," Harry answered without really paying any attention to the blonde that was following him. The tower's common room was empty, as it usually was by this time. In the sixth year boy's room, the others were gathered around each other playing Exploding Snaps and whispering. Harry had the instant desire to laugh at the ingenuity. They were using the sound of the exploding cards to cover their own sound.

Neville was the first to notice them. Without saying much he motioned for the others to look at the pair. Ron glared openly at his nemesis, Seamus grinned so slyly that even Draco wanted to hide. "Well, Malfoy, have you been showing Harry a good time?"

Evaluating themselves, they realized that they did look like they had just had a bit of a go at each other. Draco rounded on the brunet, "We were sleeping."

Seamus only smirked more. "Yeah, just like I was sleeping with Cadwaller earlier."

"Whatever," the blonde wrote off the comment, taking note of when the black Gryffindor tensed at the Irishman's words. Harry was digging in his trunk, after grabbing something he came back to the door.

"Bye, guys, I'll be back late." He left, with Draco at his side and the door closed firmly behind them.

"What is wrong with that one?"

"Seamus? Nothing, he's just…depraved."

"My, are we using grown up words now," he mocked as they exited the tower. The instant they were out Harry threw the cloak over them without giving Draco any opportunity to understand what was happening. "What are you doing?"

"It's an Invisibility cloak, we can't be seen, but we still need to be quiet," he informed the annoyed boy. There were only two of them, but they were bigger than either of them had been in the past and now were forced to huddle close in order to remain under the enchanted garment as they made their way to the edge of the Forest.

In the tower that they had just left, Dean, Neville, Seamus, and Ron were still talking. Seamus was winning the game despite everyone loosing as often as possible. Ron's face was a little red with anger, "I don't understand why Harry wants the ferret with him all the time."

"Wha? 'Re ya jealous, mate," teased Seamus, as he threw down another card. Everyone moved a little further away. For some reason, every time the Irishman threw down a bad card the explosion was particularly bad.

Ron glared at his cards, "No! I just don't want him around."

"I know your families have been feuding for a long time, but Harry thinks Malfoy can help us. We'll just have to deal with it," Dean said, always the peace-maker.

Ron fumed a bit more then consented. "I don't know if I want to find my animagus though."

"Hermione said she would help us all, if she's helping then we can do it."

"Wonder what I'll be," mentioned Seamus.

"Probably a monkey," joked Ron, earning himself a scandalized look from the slightly singed boy.

None of them really noticed how Neville had nothing to say. When they were finished Seamus put his game away and they all went to sleep. None of them were particularly prepared for what their futures held. They weren't thinking about their futures though, as their dreams took them to dark places in their minds.

A/N: Thanks to everyone that has read so far. The number of reviews makes me sad but I'm grateful for every time someone faves or alerts this story. A long road to go, hope you like it. Comments and questions are always welcome.


	5. Evil Angel

Chapter Five: Evil Angel

Breaking Benjamin

The two boys were creeping down the hall under Harry's Invisibility cloak, making their way to the Dark Forest. It was odd being so close, though for Draco it wasn't quite that strange since he hadn't slept as long as Harry had and therefore had been trapped next to him until he woke. They were able to make it to the Forest in only a short while. Remus stood just inside the trees, illuminated by the moon light .

The Lycanthrope gave a week smile to the scent of Harry, still under the Invisibility Cloak, then caught the soft odor that he knew belonged to Draco Malfoy. "Hello, Harry. Mister Malfoy."

Harry removed the cloak from himself and the blonde, who was looking at the werewolf a little dubiously. The younger two followed their teacher into the Forest. Draco walked quickly, keeping his distance from Harry and Remus to an absolute minimum. It was then that Harry realized the Slytherin was terrified but too stubborn admit it. Despite the fear, Draco was there with him, which was the only reason Harry didn't say something snide to the boy next to him. After a while they came into the clearing where Harry, Remus, and Severus had summoned the Demon.

Remus walked to a far side of the open space, "Alright, let's get started. You both know how to block attacks from your opponents during an official duel, but do you know how to defend yourself when there are no rules?"

Harry spoke with an irritated tone, "No, when I fought Voldemort in the graveyard he was playing with me. If he had fought me seriously I'd be dead."

Draco kept his expression the same as it usually was, a sneer and not much else. He knew what it was like to fight with no guidelines, with no help. The Dark Lord liked to use Unforgivables to keep his subordinates in line. The past year was painful and his parents had stood by while their son was attacked again and again, unable to go against their leader. The werewolf began talking again and he shifted his attention away from the memories.

"Yes, theatrics will hinder you when you don't use them appropriately. Now, I want the two of you to attack me, don't hold back. When you're ready."

Harry hesitated a moment, not immediately comfortable with attacking the man in front of him but then threw a spell at Lupin, who dodged it immediately. Harry didn't waste time, immediately attacking again, this time Remus deflected and threw his own attack at the young Gryffindor. Harry was only barely fast enough to avoid the attack, he dropped to his knees as it flew over his head. Standing he had to do a double take to be sure he was seeing what he thought he was. Draco had come up behind the werewolf and nearly landed a spell before Remus whipped around, grabbing his wrist before he could even finish the incantation.

Remus released the boy, who went to stand next to the Gryffindor. Remus addressed them again, "You see? It's not so easy when there are no rules. Harry, you shouldn't hesitate or charge head long at your enemy. They will use whatever opening they can to take you down. Draco, you did very well using Harry as a distraction. If I weren't what I am I never would have seen you coming, but next time don't leave your ally to fend for himself, you need to help each other."

They glanced at each other, then back to their teacher. "Now, Exos will show you how to use raw magic. I will stay, but only to supervise."

The werewolf retreated to the edge of the opening leaving space for the new instructor to move about. Neither of the boys showed their surprise, when she appeared or when she stepped closer, extending her hand until the very tip of her middle finger touched Harry's forehead and then Draco's. Both went rigid from the touch, one in surprise, the other in fear.

Retracting her hand she said, "You are both very powerful. Your species still uses wands, yes?"

The boys produced their wands, the red haired thing looked at them for a moment. "Put them away."

Draco worked up the courage to speak, irritation coloring his voice, "Aren't you supposed to be teaching us-"

"I am. Neither of you require the use of such ineffectual things, you also possess an understanding of dark magic. This should be moderately simple. Extend your hand and focus your magic into your fingers. Speak _Flagrarelumen_."

Acting as instructed, each placed their dominant hand in front of them, gathered their magic, and spoke, "_Flagrarelumen!_"

Paper thin lightning shot out from the points of their fingers, past the Demon. The lightning struck the trees behind her. Draco's created deep scars in the trunk of the tree. Harry had apparently used too much magic, as the force of the spell had sent him stumbling backward and the tree his had struck split, lent slowly to the left, and fell against its neighbors.

"Next time, concentrate on the amount of power you are putting into your spell. This is an offensive spell that is easily performed. Cut the leaves into half," she instructed.

Harry and Draco, still in awe of what they had done, took a few minutes to start hitting the leaves that were falling around them from the collision caused by Harry's spell. They spent half an hour cutting leaves, hitting them with the same precision, but Harry had a good deal of difficulty determining the amount of power he required. Draco adapted more quickly, able to perform the exercise perfectly with less effort.

After a couple hours, when they had both mastered the exercise, Exos called them back, "When stealth is desired it may be best to make yourselves unseen. You will not become invisible but you may go unnoticed by those around you. Concentrate on the core of your magic, the incantation is _Faciesmutare_. You may not have had much contact with your core before, this will not make it impossible, but you should not attempt this until you are sure you will not loose control."

Draco mentally reached for his core, this time taking hold of it. He stood very still then recited the words. Harry immediately started to look around as though he couldn't see him anymore. Even Lupin seemed to be looking for him. The Demon nodded as though in approval, "Now, release."

He let go of his magic and the wizards snapped their attention back to him. He grinned smugly at Harry's surprise, "Bet you can't do better, Potter."

Harry smiled at the challenge. "Watch me."

The raven mentally extended his consciousness toward what he thought must be his core, but when he touched it, it felt wrong. It was dark yet warm, as he held it the thing started to spread through him. It was oddly familiar and terrifying, so much like bits of his memory.

"No!"

He broke contact with the thing, opening his eyes only to find himself staring at the red eyes of the Demon. He took two big steps back, putting space between them. "Never touch that. That is your life, the light of your existence. When you make contact with that part of yourself you are opening the possibility for it to consume you. If it were to do that you would die."

"My life," Harry asked, noticing that Remus was ready to panic if he so much as swayed. Draco was watching the exchange with a blank face.

"Yes. I'm afraid your magic is not concentrated like others. It is not separate from you in any way, some of your kind are simply more connected than others. Try to say the invocation," she instructed, seeming to be calm again.

Repeating her words, Harry too became a part of the back drop, becoming unnoticeable to Draco and Remus. Exos nodded again, "Now say _Videre_."

"_Videre_," he repeated and reappeared.

"If you could make contact with a core you would need only to release it as the Lhûg did. You will have to speak the release spell in order to become visible again."

"What does that mean?"

"What?"

"What does Lhûg mean? Luna used that word too," he said with interest. Draco couldn't quite decide if he wanted to be smug or offended since he didn't know what it meant either.

The wolfish grin slid onto her face again, "Yes, she would know that. It is Elvish. It means Dragon."

Draco decided to be smug. Harry looked confused at the grin on the pale face but didn't question it. The Demon had started to walk away from the small group, when they looked at the retreating form she turned her head just enough to see them and inclined it in the direction she was heading. The three followed the luminous white of her skin, two more reluctantly than the other. After a small trek the trees parted to reveal a pool of water. Only called a pool because it was not quite large enough to be called a lake. Harry recognized the place and knew that none of the others did, which was why Remus wasn't dragging him back to the castle. He needed to learn all that he could, there was nothing anyone could do about things like what was swimming in his head so he would push back the memories.

The creature knelt at the edge, lightly tracing her fingers over the surface. She scooped a small amount into her hands and carried it over to the males. Standing in front of the blonde she extended her arms in a gesture of exchange. The Demon had not been in such close proximity before this moment so, as Draco cupped his hands to accept the liquid, he went completely rigid. This reaction was ignored by the older being as she parted her hands. The blonde looked at his own, watching to ensure that the ghost of a thing didn't do something to him. When she stepped back to allow him more comfort he noticed that it was not a liquid that he held but tiny snowflakes. He spread his hands, allowing the snow to fall from his own alabaster fingers.

"Water is the most malleable of elements. It can be a liquid, gas, solid… It easily changes shape or form. Take some of the water into your hands."

The boys went to the lake, taking the water and turning to their teacher. The condemned being stepped only slightly closer, "This is very difficult, you may fail from now until you die, but if you can do this you will be able to do much more. That is when I will truly begin to teach you. Previously, you performed spells that came from you, that only concerned you and your will. The water is an entirely separate thing, you must persuade it to do as you wish. Decide on a form for it to take then allow your magic to seep into it."

Harry thought for a moment, considering what he might like the water to become. Deciding to try to evaporate it, he let his magic leak through his palms but, nothing happened. He was certain that he was sending his thoughts clearly, but there seemed to be no reaction. Draco had wasted no time, immediately trying to freeze his own into ice and letting his magic trickle through his fingers to the water, but there was no response. Both stood in their places for nearly two hours in concentration trying alternately to get their water to boil, chill, harden, something.

Eventually, the Slytherin dropped his own in frustration and found the air around his palms to feel warm rather than chilled. The autumn air had picked up and should have made them freeze from the dampness, but instead the air felt like a comfort from the chill of his hands. Harry was still trying to get his water to do something, unable to detect change.

Exos nodded at the blonde again, "You are on the right path. We will continue tomorrow as it is late. Practice in your own time if you wish."

She disappeared into the darkness, though none of them were convinced that she was actually gone. Remus cleared his throat to gain the boys' attention, "I think that's enough for today. We should go back."

As they walked past the looming trees, the Demon hiding in the shadows, Harry saw one of the centaurs. It was a male, staying in their proximity just long enough to catch his eye before running off. "Why are the creatures avoiding us so much?"

"For the same reason they were last week," Remus replied. "They are afraid of your Demon. She could kill any of them and they know this. She is far older and darker than any of them." The professor paused, considering his student with amber eyes. "You look healthier by the way. Have you been sleeping better?"

Glancing briefly at Draco, Harry blushed a bit. "Yes."

"That's good. Whatever your dreams are, don't ignore them. We have all learned that your dreams are more than that." Harry could hear the pain in the other man's voice and felt the same pain in his heart. Draco tried not to feel awkward walking with two emotional Gryffindors, failing quite spectacularly.

The castle was warm -outside it had been wet and a little chilly, hints of the changing season. The lycanthrope walked them down the halls until they reached his classroom, where he left them to find their own way back to their dorms. In the confines of his room, Remus lay in his bed, crying for his lost friend the only way he knew how. Silently.

The boys walked along under cover of the cloak until they reached their separating point. Draco whispered, "Let's go to my dorms."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want to get caught out here. The last thing I want right now is another detention." Harry consented and walked with Draco to the dungeons.

The man in the painting was asleep but a snake hissed when it saw them emerge from the cloak. "_So you are the two he complains about. It has been a great time since a Gryffindor entered these rooms._"

Draco just looked at the snake as it hissed at them, low enough to not wake the man next to it. Harry walked up to the painting, "_Sorry, for the disruption. He wants to go inside, could you let us in?_"

"_Certainly." _The door swung open and Draco took a few steps toward it before he realized that Harry hadn't started to leave.

The blonde turned to Harry. "Thank you for getting me inside, Potter. Good night."

The boy still didn't move away, he kept glancing at Draco like he was trying to persuade himself to speak. He wasn't sure if it was the courage or stupidity that people talked about that made him speak, but the words jumped out before he could do anything about them. "Two months. Until…this morning, I hadn't slept through the night-"

"In two months? How the bloody hell were you able to stand," exclaimed the irate Slytherin. He couldn't believe that the boy before him had so many restless nights. "Are your dreams really so bad?"

Words weren't needed, the struggle in the green eyes was enough to convince him that it took a lot more than Harry would admit just to lay in his bed and let himself dream. He remembered the night he had accepted the assignment to follow Harry around. Dumbledore had informed him about the boy so he would be able to better understand the things he was observing. He knew that Harry and Voldemort shared thoughts and how those thoughts, manifested as dreams, had led to the death of his cousin. Harry looked haunted and Draco thought of the guilt that he must have felt. The green eyes grabbed hold of his silver ones, "Can I sleep with you? That was the first peaceful night I've had…"

"In two months, as you said. How do you know it was me? You were also ready to drop from exhaustion. Actually, you did drop, right onto my bed."

"No, you pushed me onto the bed-"

"My, Draco, I never thought you would try to bed the Golden Boy." Both young men jumped when they heard the voice of Pansy Parkinson. She smiled at their surprise. "If you want to have a private conversation you shouldn't stand in an open doorway. Get in here."

They both followed her instructions, entering the common room immediately. She was dressed in a violet night gown that ended just past her thighs, her hair was a little disheveled from sleep but she was wide awake now. "Don't look so nervous, Draco. I'm a very light sleeper, everyone else is still in bed. Now, what's this about you, him, and your bed?"

"It's nothing," Draco bit.

"Potter, you'll be a dear and tell me won't you," she seemed to decide more than ask.

"Um, -"

"He's leaving, Pansy," the Prince said as he pushed the slightly bewildered Gryffindor toward the door.

"I don't think you want to do that," she advised as she started to tie her hair back.

Draco stopped short, "Why's that?"

"Because, Peeves has been floating in and out of the corridors all night. He came back about an hour ago, said he would be out the rest of the night. Throw him out now and it won't be just Filtch that he'll have to worry about."

"Damn it," he muttered, not really caring that the boy he was trying to get away from had heard. He was reluctant to throw out the raven, even knowing that he would be perfectly fine going back to his room without being noticed. Draco's real concern was that he _would _make it back to his own bed. He remembered the expression he had seen on the drawn face when he had nearly been killed for daring to get help. It was one of terror and feral insanity. If all of his dreams made him wake up like that it would only be so long before the boy broke. _Two months. _

"Fine, we're going to sleep and, no, we aren't going to shag each other." Draco pulled Harry to the sixth year boys rooms. "Night, Pansy."

"Night, Draco," she said with a smile.

Inside the room, the other boys were sleeping silently. The blonde pushed Harry onto his bed with a finger to his lips. Then Draco gathered his toiletries and disappeared into what Harry assumed was the bathroom. Harry took off his shoes and got ready to sleep, loosening his clothes and removing his shirt. He left his discarded shirt and tie in a pile on the floor on top of the cloak. The bed was warm, probably pre-heated, and very soft. When Draco came back his hair was wet and he wore only bottoms. There was a warmth spreading through Harry that he couldn't get to stop.

"What's got you all hot and bothered," Draco asked as he pulled the blankets back so that he could crawl in.

"What?"

"You're face is red. Are you hot or were you thinking of Granger?"

"Don't even joke about that! Hermione's like my sister," he said as he turned to the other side. Draco wasn't going to bother him at the moment. Their eyes closed and it took only seconds for their minds to fall into slumber.

Harry woke slowly, this time not bothered by the early rays of sunlight. Instead, he found himself with a face full of alabaster skin and the familiar smells of vanilla and sandalwood. The fleeting thought of whether it would taste the same as it smelt entered his mind, but then he heard someone clear their throat.

Turning his head he saw a disheveled Blaise Zabini looking down at him. "You're gonna want to get up before he finds out you were cuddling him."

Harry realized that he was, indeed, clinging to the lithe blonde next to him. He released instantly, jumping out of the bed yet trying not to disturb the other body. Blaise laughed on the inside but only smiled at the frazzled Gryffindor. Harry looked to the smiling Slytherin, then around the room searching for others that could potentially be a threat. "Uh, where's Nott?"

"He got a little nauseous seeing you with Draco so he left," Blaise said as he went to his trunk so that he could get his things for the bathroom. Harry still looked a little uncertain about his surroundings. While Blaise washed, Harry looked for a mirror to see if he could make it look like he hadn't been in the same clothes for more than a day. He really needed to shower and change.

When the black haired Slytherin emerged in his cleanly pressed uniform Harry only felt dirtier. Blaise noticed this when Harry started to preen in a desperate manner, so handed the surprised boy his bathing things. "Um,-"

"Don't worry about it. I have to wake Draco up anyway. He doesn't like to sleep in like this," the Frenchman informed as he pushed Harry in the direction of the showers. Once inside he cleaned himself up. Showering felt heavenly, between the sleep and shower his entire being felt so refreshed he thought he might be glowing.

Back in the room, Blaise looked at his blonde friend, contemplating in what manner he wished to wake him that morning. Settling on a simple charm, he cast the spell and the room filled with the nagging sound of an alarm clock. Draco rolled over and grabbed Blaise by the front of the shirt, pulling him close. "Stop the noise or I'll do to you what that idiot Lockhart did to Potter's arm."

The irritating noise stopped instantly and Draco released his prisoner. He looked to each of his sides, sure that something was missing. Seeing the confused look on his friend's face, the darker smirked, "He's in the shower. Draco, are you sleeping with him?"

The blonde sighed, "Only yesterday and last night."

"No, are you shagging him? He's attractive enough, but he has a lot of problems. There's also that mind invasion thing you may want to consider."

"I'm not fucking him," Draco stated indignantly. His friend could only give him a critical look, noticing the slightest of blushes.

"Whatever you say, Draco. So, when is your little arm-"

Blaise found a wet hand on his mouth and a wet body standing next to him. The black haired Gryffindor wore nothing but a towel that was dangerously close to falling off. His hair was still soaked and hanging in his face, the trademark glasses nowhere to be found. Blaise's eyes were caught by the burning green ones of the so called Chosen One, though he noticed that Draco's were clawing at the body of the same boy. Apparently, Draco noticed this too because he suddenly decided to extract himself from the situation, entering the empty bathroom.

Harry removed his hand. "Sorry, it's bloody fucking irritating."

Walking over to a nearby desk, Harry scribbled down an explanation and instructions for the following night. Zabini took the note, looking over the rather skimpy ensemble. Harry didn't seem to take much notice of the attention though, he was looking at the closed door that Draco had passed through only seconds earlier.

"Want some cloths?" the taller offered as he glanced over the note.

"Uh, no, I can wait. Thanks for the other stuff."

"Don't mention it." He folded the parchment, slipping it into his pocket. "So, is Granger always so touchy about you?"

"Generally, but it's not just me. She's very defensive about all of her friends. Why do you and Draco keep bringing her up?"

Eyebrows shot up in surprise at the first name reference but Blaise made sure Harry didn't see. "We're just interested in your girlfriend's personality. She must trust you a lot to have you sleeping in the dungeons with the Slytherin poster child."

"What makes you think we're together?"

"She's the only girl that spends any amount of time with you, except for the crazy Ravenclaw. Besides, she's too smart for Weasley."

"I'm not dating Hermione," he said with absoluteness. Thinking back on their behavior toward each other he could see where people would get that assumption, but it was still Hermione, his big sister. "What did you say to her? That made her get protective."

"Just something about your Legilimancy abilities. I just wanted to know what you lot were up to, but she wanted to know how she could trust me. I guess I went about it the wrong way."

Harry nodded, of course Draco would tell his closest friends. "I didn't mean to hurt Snape-"

Blaise threw up his hands, "Hey, at least you protect yourself. Most people are completely useless with Occlumency and Legilimency."

Draco walked out of the bathroom, clean and fully clothed. He threw a bundle of what seemed to be Harry's cleaned uniform at the wet boy. "Dry off for Merlin's sake. We can't leave until you stop looking like a wet dream."

Despite the mocking tone Harry didn't feel insulted in the least. He started to turn away only a little and remove the towel to dry himself when he heard the Slytherin shout, "What are you doing, Potter? We're not your exhibitionist Gryffindors!"

Grabbing the clothes that had been thrown at him, again, Harry returned to the bathroom. As the two Slytherins waited, Draco practiced his most poisonous glares at his friend. Blaise didn't have to say anything verbally, the whole of what he thought was communicated just with the smirk pasted on his chiseled face.

* * *

A/N:_ Flagrarelumen _- combination of Flagrare and Lumen: Latin for Burn Light

_Faciesmutare _- combination of Facies and Mutare: Latin for Sight Alter

_Videre_ - Latin for See


	6. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Chapter Six: A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

This Providence

In Gryffindor Tower, the sun snuck through useless curtains to disturb one of the inhabitants of the boys' dorm. Dean squeezed his eyes shut a little tighter, which did nothing to help him. Even his blankets were no match for the persistent light. Surrendering, he rolled out of his warm bed and stood for a minute trying to focus his sleepy eyes. In the bed across the room lay a slightly curly head of brunet hair. The sun that had so rudely woken him seemed to have no effect on the other boy. His hair and pale face glowed slightly in the morning.

It wasn't until he heard Neville rustling in his own bed that Dean realized he had gravitated toward Seamus and was standing over the boy, staring. Not wanting to be caught he decided to try waking the other. He placed his hand on the Irishman's shoulder, giving it a not so nice shake. "Seamus. Seamus! Bang Bang, get up or I'll set your bed on fire!"

"Fine, I'll just sleep in yours," came the groggy response from the mostly unconscious lump.

The response only made the threat more appealing to fulfill. Resisting the urge, Dean grabbed hold of the blankets wrapped around Seamus and gave a harsh tug. There was a loud thump as a body connected with the floor. "Ow! Ya ruddy bastard!"

Dean laughed at the glare sent his way, it really didn't suit the normally jovial face. The laughing and general noise accrued by the two woke the other inhabitants who glared slightly at their housemates as they started to get ready. When Seamus managed to untangle himself from the mass of blankets and stand Dean noticed that the boy had worn no shirt to bed. Barely managing to pull himself away from the view they joined the others in their preparation.

Ron was the last to crawl out of his bed, looking around as though the world was just slightly off kilter. Looking at the freshly scrubbed face of Neville he asked, "Where's Harry?"

The others looked around, just realizing that their housemate was missing. Seamus made a thoughtful sound and nodded. "I know where he is."

The others waited impatiently for him to continue. When he didn't Ron tried to edge more information with a not very subtle, "And?"

"You'll have to ask him," stated the Irishman as he went about dressing. Seamus was a bit of a gossip lover but he wasn't the kind to spread rumors. If he knew where Harry was and wasn't saying then it was surely a reason to wonder where Harry could have gone and, just maybe, who he had been with.

In the girls' dorms, Hermione woke in a sour mood, still irritated at the thoughts of having her feathers ruffled the night before. She dressed quickly with sharp, jerky movements trying – and failing – to keep her thoughts from turning to the particular Slytherin who was responsible for her discomfort.

Her hair was even bigger and wilder than usual but she didn't notice until Lavender stopped her half way through the door. "Hermione, I know your hair is always disagreeable but you need to at least try to clean it up. Otherwise, you'll never find a boyfriend."

Lavender, in her kindest way, pulled the unhappy girl into a chair where she started to run a useless comb through her hair. "You really don't need to bother," she grumbled. "I'll just be like Harry and accept that my hair will never be tamed."

The other brunet looked down at the girl, "What's wrong, Hermione? You don't give up on anything. "

Silence followed.

"Fine, then do you mind if I talk to you about something that's been bothering me?" Hermione gave no indication to the contrary, so the petite girl plunged forth. "Sometimes, I think that all people see me as is this beautiful, vexing, dense girl, but I'm not just those things, you know?"

"Lavender, I don't think-," she said tentatively as she started to rise. Lavender gently pushed her back down with her own head bowed.

"Please, let me talk. I don't have any real friends, I mean, real real friends. And you're so smart, Hermione, and I can tell that they care about you. I….I'm just lonely. Okay? I don't think anyone really likes me because, no one really knows me. Not even my parents," she confessed as she started to tear up. She stopped with the brushing as she lifted her hands to her face in an attempt to hide the tears.

Hermione forgot about her own mood instantly and stood to hug the other girl. "Shhhh, it's okay."

"Hermione? What do you really think of me," she asked, looking up into kind brown eyes.

The intelligent Gryffindor thought through her response before she dared to open her mouth. It wouldn't be fair to give Lavender a dishonest answer and she wasn't the kind to just tell people what they wanted to hear, disregarding truth. "I think, that no one really knows us, not even ourselves. I don't think we really understand everything we do or think. We're young and don't know as much as we would like to assume. Not even me, but I do think that you're a very kind person that hasn't had the chance to prove it."

Lavender clung a little more even as her tears slowed in their production. "Do you think Ronald could ever really care about me?"

The brains of the Golden Trio tried to process what was being said to her as it was something of a surprise. "Do you like Ron?"

"He's honest with me. He's the one that invited me to the meeting before. He's nice too-He treats me with respect no matter what others say about me." She began to form a blush as she thought of the red haired boy and Hermione didn't miss it.

She smiled to herself a bit. "Yes, I think that if he got to know you he would care about you very much."

The tears stopped and the girl smiled. "Thank you."

They separated and walked out the door together. The boys were waiting by the entrance for them and Lavender felt warm inside when Ron smiled at her. She stopped, remembering a bad mood from earlier. "Oh, why were you unhappy this morning?"

Hermione looked back at her. "It was nothing. Someone just said something stupid."

The Hall was no different than it had been any of the other days that year, but the second Draco Malfoy entered there was tension coiling in the air. Harry had entered a little earlier and sat at his own table with Nott's eyes on him the whole time. Draco had watched from the doors, making it appear that the wizarding hero had only slept in and not spent the night in the dungeons. When he approached his table Theodore's attention immediately shifted.

"I'm calling a meeting," Draco announced to his table. Of course, that was all that was needed. Those that were welcome and those that weren't knew their places and took them as demanded. Parkinson, Zabini, Nott, Goyle, and Crabbe quickly stood from their seats to accompany their leader outside.

The wind had picked up, blowing leaves around them like a torrent. They approached the lake where they held the majority of their meetings. The five assembled and turned to face their prince as he stood before them. Draco didn't call meetings like these often, if ever. The last time had been when he told them that he had no intention of becoming a Death Eater like their parents and had asked them if they would do the same. They had. Though Pansy and Theo had stayed in secret, by orders of Dumbledore, so that they could keep close eyes on the new recruits.

Draco always felt a bite of apprehension, worry that he was leading them down the wrong path. But hesitation wouldn't take care of his friends or the other people that counted on him. So he never showed any worry, just the arrogance and absolution that he had been taught. "I have decided that Dumbledore isn't the right person for us to familiarize ourselves with. The old man is as crazy and manipulative as the Dark Lord. So, I have allied myself with Potter."

"You've done more than that though, haven't you Dra?" snipped Theo.

Draco met his friend's glare with hard eyes. "I haven't done anything other than help him and watch his actions. Don't start assuming things you know nothing about."

"How do we know? You're hardly around anymore. All you ever do is come back to sleep and clean-up. Maybe you just love the way Potter gives it to you and that's why you want to follow him. He's got you wrapped around his fucking finger-"

SLAP!

Pansy stood over the boy she had struck without saying anything. It was Draco that stepped up to reprimand him, gently pushing the girl aside. "You're out of place, Nott. You know that I have no interest in following anyone. He's the best way to save ourselves. He's willing to have equals and he couldn't be manipulating if he tried. He's disillusioned about his so called leader. You don't know him, Theo, and you should know better than to assume things about me."

The tawny-haired boy stayed where he was, not wanting to be struck by Pansy again. Surprisingly, she was the one that tended to strike people with physical blows. Blaise didn't care for violence, preferring to be the insightful one, and Crabbe and Goyle were there for show.

Nott was supposed to be the deceptive one. Slytherins are naturally deceiving, but Theo had a particular knack for it. He hadn't been able to hide his affections for Draco though. It had shown through like a candle in the dark and, though he had been turned down kindly, he still found himself resenting Draco at times. Especially when he had to hear about the blonde's newest escapade everyday. That it was now the Chosen One only mixed lemon with the salt in his wounds.

"So, are you telling us we're going to playing nice and friendly with a bunch of Gryffindors?"

"Well, I'm fine with it," stated Gregory as he leaned back on his heals a little more. "I like the smart one and Potter doesn't seem that bad. It's the Weasley that'll be hard to convince we aren't intending any harm. He'll be a pain until then."

"No, we can't let anyone know that we're friends or allies or anything with them. There's a meeting tonight. Are you all going to come," asked Draco.

"Guess Greg and I are in," Vincent said as he turned away to look back at the school. He and Greg had no illusions about their standing. They were both on the lower end of the Purebloods' food chain. They also knew that the youngest Malfoy was the only reason they weren't hazed by the higher families and they owed him. He had propositioned them in fist year, their physical strength in exchange for his families' social strength. Over time they had become friends so, Slytherin or not, they weren't going to abandon him. "We're with you Draco, whatever you decide."

"I'll be there too," Blaise said as he pulled out a Blood Pop and started to suck on it. "I have my own interests, but I agree with Draco. Potter is our best bet, he won't use us like any of these other bastards."

"Alright. Pans?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "As if you need to ask."

Draco looked back down at the boy that was now sitting on the ground, his head hanging between his long bent legs. "Theodore?"

He hughed, "I'm out voted." He stood up, looking at his friends. "I want to make myself clear though. I'm doing this because I want to be there when I get to say I told you it was a stupid idea and save your sodding asses. Potter has a record of leading people to their deaths. I don't want to see that happen to you."

"Nice to know you care. Let's go back inside, it's bloody cold," Draco said as he huddled his robes closer to himself.

Luna watched the Slytherins retreat from the chilling wind. Looking up at the cloudy sky from her perch in the willow tree she smiled a smile of hidden sorrow. "Yes, an early winter with red snow."

Harry had just finished his meal when he was approached by McGonagall. She informed him that he was to see the headmaster as soon as the meal was over. He had waited for sometime now, but didn't think that the time for his confrontation would come so soon. When he had finished his meal, he stood to leave, his friends eyes on him the whole time. Walking past the doors he saw the Slytherins reenter the castle. His eyes met the liquid silver that he had come accustomed to and noticed a spark in them that he hadn't seen before. Putting it off for another time he kept on toward the hidden stair case.

He stood in front of the gargoyle statue and gave it the password, "Warhead." _How appropriate._

The room was the same as always, the desk stacked with papers, the dying phoenix on its perch, and the Sorting Hat on top of the shelf. The old man seemed to be out for the moment so Harry took a seat to wait. The shadows in one of the corners shifted and Exos emerged to stand at his side.

"Would you like me to dispose of him," she asked quietly.

The raven started - not from her appearance, she had not been so silent that he hadn't noticed but her request for sudden violence took him by surprise. "No, why do you want to kill him?"

He got the feeling that the look she was giving him was meant to be cynical even though her face barely moved. "My species loves blood and violence. That is not why I would like to get rid of him though. You cannot smell it. There is old magic laced into every inch of this room. It makes him fully aware of all that enter here. It also makes me uncomfortable."

Harry felt like he had been smacked in the forehead. If Dumbledore knew everything about everyone that entered, then he had known that it wasn't really Moody in fourth year, he knew what Mr. Malfoy had been planning in second year, and it was likely that he knew almost everything about Harry's own plans. "If you know that then why are you in here? You know I don't want him to know anything about what we're doing."

"He will know nothing of you nor I while I am in the room. My magic surpasses his."

That didn't help at all. Harry's mind was reeling with all the possibilities of what the old bastard knew and what he had allowed to happen and why. The Demon fell back into the shadows as the headmaster entered from his chambers. When the green eyes turned to twinkling blue it was like a chemical reaction gone very wrong. Albus actually felt a force that was begging to burn him yet he couldn't tell if it was mental or magical. He put on a very good show of not feeling anything though.

He sat at his old desk as though he didn't feel like his skull had become a melting pot. "How are you, Harry? It would seem that there hasn't been any great deal of mischief this year."

Harry wasn't sure he should say anything. He was still too angry at the old man and himself for not having guessed. His temper was not under any kind of useful control, Albus was lucky he wasn't being torn apart at that very moment. Breathing deep he told himself that he would do something about the mistreatment soon enough. "I'm fine, just tired a lot."

Dumbledore's smile grew a little, clearly fake, in an effort to appear the concerned elder. He was better able to put on his show since his head had stopped boiling and the glow had gone out of the green eyes. "Severus says that Voldemort is gathering more followers. He may be planning an attack."

"Do you know where?"

"Most likely here. If he is able to take Hogwarts he will have no trouble taking the rest of the wizarding world. If he can he will try to kill you first, Harry. That is why I would prefer you didn't leave the school anymore," Dumbledore said with an air that informed Harry this was an order, not a suggestion. "Your training will continue soon in any case. Until then I will assign a bodyguard to you."

Harry felt his magic bubbling under his skin. He hated that the bastard was trying to tell him what to do, again! Doing his best to hide the anger, he nodded saying, "I understand, Sir. Who did you have in mind?"

"Miss Tonks will be here tomorrow. She will accompany you to your classes and anywhere else you need to go. Until then, try to stay out of trouble?"

The old man smiled at him with that damnable twinkle of knowing and power in his eyes. Harry stood, giving an affirming nod, and left. The students in the hall fled as he marched towards his first class radiating a negative mood. That didn't stop Draco Malfoy from striding up to him like he was ready for a fight. The second they were within an arm's length of each other the blonde threw a spell at him that he was not fast enough to dodge.

"_Impedimenta,_" Draco said as he approached the raven. The spell pushed Potter into the nearest wall which Harry used to hold himself up, temporarily surprised. The blonde did his best not to think about how fast his blood was pumping through his veins. Not because of fear, but because the dark savior had looked like a sinister creature prowling its territory, which had turned Draco on a great deal. There were fewer things he found more attractive than a powerful predator. Ignoring his beating heart became even harder as he grabbed onto Harry's shirt, pulling the boy close.

"What the hell," shouted the indignant Gryffindor, who was clearly surprised by the attack. The students around them simultaneously looked on and ran off, having no interest in getting caught in the cross fire of an infamous fight between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

"What can I say? I'm in a bad mood," Draco retorted loud enough for the hall to hear. Leaning in just a little closer, he whispered, "Stop looking like you're going to rip someone's head off. Go to class and act like everything's fine."

Draco shoved him roughly against the wall and walked away, casting a Knee-reversal hex as he went, still trying to ignore the scent of opium that had filled his nostrils. Harry fell to the floor when he could no longer operate his legs. Ron came running up to him a few seconds latter having just taken off for classes. He would have gone after the Slytherin if he hadn't been trying to right Harry.

"What the bloody hell was that about? I thought you said he was on our side," he hissed as he helped his friend up. They walked, awkwardly, towards the class room where Hermione would be able to reverse the hex.

"It's nothing. I wasn't thinking."

"What are you talking about, mate? He attacked you!" the redhead shouted. Entering the room, they headed for the nearest empty seat. Hermione spotted them immediately and rushed to help. She quickly examined the damage, correcting it with a murmur and wave of her wand.

"What happened," she asked, barely interested. Things like this occurred too often for her to actively worry about them each and every time.

"Malfoy attacked him for no reason," Ron informed as he took his seat next to Harry.

"What?"

Harry grimaced at the attention the scuffle was receiving. It wasn't even a real scuffle, more like a friend telling him to check himself. "It wasn't 'no reason'. I was upset and he told me to get a grip."

Hermione hmmed in thought, nodded, and went back to her seat. He marveled at how easily things could be explained to her sometimes. One sentence and she could connect enough of the dots to understand. He appreciated her easy acceptance, but he knew it would be harder to make Ron see the reasoning behind what Draco had done.

Flitwick levitated himself atop his stack of books and began to lecture about the proper uses of _Obscuro_. Harry looked up occasionally as he wrote a note to Ron, making it appear that he was taking notes.

"_I went to Dumbledore's office. He was talking about the danger I'm probably in and how he was going to have someone else follow me around. I was mad when I left and Draco just told me to calm down."_

Ron read over the message quickly and then scribbled his own response. Harry read it, thinking that if the Slytherin Prince ever had to read Ronald's hand writing he would out right refuse. If he had thought Harry's was bad he had yet to see anything similar to the red's.

"_So? He could have just said it. He didn't have to attack you._"

"_And let the whole school know that we're friends? He was protecting us, Ron. All of us._"

"_Now we're __friends __with the ferret? You said he was helping us. That was all!_"

Harry hughed an irritated sigh. The bad blood that ran between Purebloods was blacker and deeper than any other kind of family feud one could find on the earth. The best he could hope for was that someday they would be able to tolerate each other.

"_No, all I'm saying is that he's trying to help. I know you two have always hated each other but he's being civil. Could you just try to put up with him?_"

Ron sat quietly looking at the note for a while, then scribbled back, "_No promises." _

It was likely the best Harry would ever get, so he took it. The class and the rest of the day continued as normal. There was no more interaction between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors which made people talk; wondering why the Trio hadn't retaliated yet. But the talking was ignored and life went on.

A half-faced moon loomed over the trees as students made their way to the Shrieking Shack. By midnight all of them had collected in the only room used for the meetings. The other rooms were left to Remus and whatever ghosts did or didn't live there. As Harry stood before them he noted that Slytherins weren't the only new recruits. Now, there was also Hanna Abbot, Susan Bones, Cho Chang, and even Marietta Edgecombe. He felt heavy with responsibility when they looked to him. Draco stood on Harry's right, showing his own rank in the rag tag group.

"My people are here. And more, apparently. Who invited you," the blonde demanded from the new faces. They all looked at Luna, who seemed to be staring at shadows.

"Lovegood?" She turned to him reluctantly. He gestured toward the recruits with a question on his face.

"We need more people. I knew they would want to help Harry so I asked them to come. They'll be good," she said in answer to the other questions he would have asked. Could they trust them? Especially one of Potter's previous infatuations. Of course, Cho remembered what had happened to Marietta the year before and wouldn't want anything worse to happen to her.

Cho placed her hand on the girl's shoulder in a comforting way and Draco eased a bit. Not from what Luna had said but because he could read the body language and knew that the two girls were involved, which meant that the older had no interest in Harry. He berated himself internally, telling himself that he shouldn't be thinking like that. At least not yet.

"Well, let's get on with this," he instructed.

Hermione squirmed in her seat a little as Blaise leaned back in her direction. He had positioned himself directly in front of her. She was positive he had done it on purpose and was irked that he would intentionally make her even more irritated with him. Harry cleared his throat to speak and she tried to concentrate on him. It didn't work as well as she would have liked.

"Today, Dumbledore told me that Voldemort is gathering more followers. Do any of you know anything about the students leaving or acting strange?" he asked the room in general.

Hanna, shifted in her seat. "Um, none of the Hufflepuffs have been any different."

That wasn't surprising, the Hufflepuffs weren't likely to become curse throwing Death Eaters. Cho opened her mouth to speak but Luna shook her head, still intensely watching the shadows, before any sound was made.

Theodore refused to acknowledge Harry, so he directed his answer to Draco. "There have been some defects in our house, but a lot fewer than we expected. Four at most."

As far as any of them knew there weren't any Gryffindors that had fallen to the dark side either. Blaise pulled out another Blood Pop. "I don't think he'll be taking them right now. He'll probably wait until he has all of the parents that he can. Once he's done that it will be easier to get students to follow him. What else did the old lion say?"

"That he didn't want me leaving the castle anymore."

"Why would he say that? Just because Voldemort is gathering people…. It will be a while before he's ready to attack," Hermione observed. She had been starting to see that Harry had a point in his claim of Dumbledore being manipulative. If he knew so much then why hadn't he helped them any number of times rather than just giving them cryptic messages?

"Exosatratus told me that there's old magic in the room. It tells him everything about everyone that enters," Harry informed them,

"Which means that if Remus or Snape have gone in there since you summoned Exos then he already knows something. More than we want him to anyway," Hermione deduced, suddenly stopping when she saw the little color in Draco's face disappear.

The rest of the room looked at Draco as well. He shifted a little, speaking with great concern, "He called me to his office two days ago."

The fact that Dumbledore knew what they had planned to that point was not quite as terrifying as the possibility that the man knew the feelings that he was just getting comfortable with himself. The blonde didn't dare take his eyes off of the raven, whose green eyes were glowing again. The whole room could feel the magic in the air, like an electric charge. Ron and Hermione were on their feet instantly, approaching their friend cautiously but quickly.

"Harry, Harry, calm down," Hermione soothed.

"It'll be okay, Harry," Ron assured him.

The charge slowly diminished until he was no longer in danger of releasing uncontrolled magic and in control just enough to scream. "I'm done!"

"What do you mean," Ron asked him. The redhead was still standing with the brunet, directly in front of the irate young man.

"I'm done with this! I can't stand censoring everything and I don't want that bastard telling me what I can do! I'm not his fucking pet!" He panted, looking at the other people in the room. "I'm leaving."

There was impenetrable silence. All eyes were on the young savior, unable to find the right words to say, afraid they would upset him more. Neville stood and approached Harry with confidence that the rest of the room seemed to suddenly lack. When they were eye to eye he said, "Where will we go?"

Harry seemed surprised, "I…I don't know. I'm sorry, I shouldn't just say things, but I really can't take it anymore-"

"The Black Forest," Luna stated so randomly that all attention averted to her. She hadn't turned to them, favoring the corner of the room that she had been staring at the whole night.

He wanted to question, wanted to have answers but he reverted to what he knew. When Luna Lovegood told you to do something it was in your best interest to do it. Though Harry could see no conceivable reason for going to Germany he would go. "Fine, we leave tomorrow."

Draco found his tongue, "What are we going to do when we get to Germany? She's talking about living in a forest. One of the most deadly, creature inhabited, places in the world!"

The lithe girl chose to finally pull her attention away and looked Draco square in the eye. Moon beam blue burning at molten silver. "Dark places breed dark things. We will be safe there."

None of them quite understood what she meant. If dark places begot dark things then how were they supposed to be safe in a place called the Black Forest? It didn't really matter whether they could comprehend the strange girl or not. If Harry left the school, no matter where he was going, they couldn't just let him go alone. So, having made their decisions, they took their stand one by one.

Nott, the only one sitting said, "How are you going to get off the grounds without the headmaster noticing? Granted we did it for this little party and apparently you have other times but, if he even thinks you're getting ready to leave him he's going to stop you."

"Theo has a point," Blaise said. He licked at his sucker and gave a ghoulish smile. "I have a plan though. We'll start leaving one by one through the day. It'll be less noticeable if a few students go missing here and there rather than a large group at once. The strongest will stay to help Harry if the old wizard decides to try anything."

Harry nodded in agreement then started to assign groups and times for them to go. His group would be the last to leave, consisting of himself, Draco, Hermione, and Exos- though no one said anything about the Demon. Lavender asked where they were all supposed to be going to meat and it was decided that they would be heading to muggle London. Only muggle transportation would be used to make it a little bit harder for the Ministry to follow them. Slowly people filed out, nervous, needing to pack, and desperate for sleep.

Soon the only people left in the room were Harry and the two blondes. Luna got off her chair slowly and turned to Harry with disappointed eyes. "You haven't been feeding the Darkling."

It took him a moment to understand what she meant. "Oh, I've been-"

"The moon makes her hungry. You'll have to feed her tonight," she instructed with an almost angry tone, then extracted herself from the room.

The Darkling, as she had called it, emerged from another corner entirely than the one Luna had been looking at all night. She did not take her eyes off of her master but Harry could sense that she was also looking beyond him, toward the door Luna had gone through. He felt guilty for forgetting that she relied on his blood to live…or did she?

"I'm sorry I haven't fed you. Um, do you have to drink my blood?" he asked tentatively. It wasn't so much that giving up blood bothered him, it was strange and a little nerve wracking but not a great bother. Especially since she healed the wounds so quickly and didn't take enough to even make him light headed.

She gave what almost passed for an inquisitive look. "Yes, it is necessary for me to remain strong."

"But would you die if I didn't? Aren't you already dead?"

"Not at all, Demons and Angels are too closely woven with the Grim of death to be easily effected by it. We are eternal. However, I need the blood of my master to remain strong in this form. If I do not feed on your life regularly then I will become week and less able to protect you," she explained calmly.

Draco had leaned his frame against the wall a while ago but had to stand to make sure he would be able to make a getaway if he became ill. His face was already an unhealthy pale. Harry had listened attentively, noting everything she said. Some of what she said made him even more uncomfortable with his present situation. She talked about death as a living for crying out loud.

Rolling up his sleeve, Harry extended his arm toward the red haired being. Draco left immediately, unable to watch the proceedings. Once the door was closed she stepped forward, taking his arm in her hands. It was the same as before, she drank only a small portion of the blood, licked the wholes closed and released the arm. Harry started unrolling his sleeve and she disappeared as usual. Outside the door, Draco stood impatiently having waited for the dark haired savior. Together they walked the dark tunnels back to the castle to pack for a daring escape.


	7. Home

Chapter Seven: Home

Three Days Grace

_Running, running, so dark. Why so dark? His eyes could see perfectly in the darkness, but it seemed that the moon and stars had been blotted out of the sky. The trees flew past as he ran farther and farther into the forest. He wasn't being followed and the other wolves were gone. He was alone, running for a reason that he couldn't understand. The firm tug inside of him was not about to let him stop, pulling him toward something that he had to get to. The world darkened a little more and he stopped. Ahead stood a figure, a black robed person nearly as tall as Hagrid though it was clearly far thinner. Tentatively, he stepped closer feeling a surge of dread as the figure turned to look at him. The face was both a stranger and a longtime friend. The skin was pale like marble, the eyes were deeply sunken black holes. It smiled a kind smile that sent chills through his nerves. _

"_Hello, Harry."_

Harry bolted up in his bed in a cold sweat. His nightmare hadn't woken his house mates, a couple of which turned in their beds. The dark haired young man nearly jumped out of his skin when he caught a glimpse of black to his left. Exos stood over him, her bruised red eyes stared at his face without any of the emotions his friends would have had and found that he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed about this. Throwing his legs over the side, Harry took a deep breath before standing.

"What did you dream about?" she asked quietly.

Retrieving his bathing things Harry looked at the eyes and realized he had seen them somewhere other than on the pale face. Pushing that away he answered, "I'm not sure. It was calling me. Something dark. It looked a little like you."

There was no visible reaction on the Demon's part, not that he expected there to be. She looked away for a moment as though in contemplation. It was clear that she no longer had a desire to speak and so he went into the showers. While scrubbing at his skin under the warm water Harry thought about the day before and his meeting with Dumbledore. As much as he now knew from Exos, he still wanted a confession from the old man about how he had been manipulating Harry and his life. Being realistic he realized that he would probably never get one but reconciled that he wouldn't have to play the puppet much longer. Hours separated him from freedom.

Still thinking back on the previous day, the raven remembered gleaming silver eyes. Cupping his hands to collect the water falling from the showerhead, his eyes losing their focus, he remembered how Draco had turned away instantly. He hadn't given any indication that he had seen Harry or even cared what he was doing alone in the halls before the end of breakfast. The strange thing was that he hadn't needed to. Harry could see the question, the confusion, and maybe even concern? The sharp silver that could burn or pierce with such intensity that it made his stomach hurt. The blonde hair had been tousled slightly from the outside wind and the light pink in the cheeks that normal held no color at all. His mouth had been slightly open, huffing out breath due to the cold.

As he thought of the blonde Slytherin his body temperature started to rise and his eyes became unfocused. He thought about the last time he had slept in Draco's bed. The Pure Blood was surprisingly warm. He realized this when he had been curled against the warm skin. He wondered if it was the shampoo or some kind of colonel that made him smell so good.

Someone opened the door to the bathroom and Harry tried to clear his head. As he heard the sink faucet turn he brought the water in his hands up to his face and screamed in alarm. Jumping away from the scalding water that splattered on the tile as he dropped it Harry slipped, his right side connecting viciously with the floor. The commotion drew the other occupant who threw back the curtain.

"Harry! Are you alright?"

Harry winced and tried not to upset the sore parts of his body, which were likely to become very badly bruised, as he looked up at Neville. The boy did have a tendency to wake up earlier than the rest of them; save Harry. Judging by the white foam along the line of his mouth Neville had been brushing his teeth when Harry had fallen and he'd rushed to help.

The brunet boy tugged gently on the other man's arm so he could stand. "Ah," he hissed as his ribs ached. "I'll be okay, I think."

Neville grabbed a towel and gave it to Harry to cover himself then started examining him. He wasn't a Healer by any means, but he had studied enough of it to make us of the plants that he was so fond of.

"Does this hurt?" he asked as he pressed on Harry's sixth rib.

"OW!"

Seamus snickered from the door, peeking in on the two young men. "For a second I thought you guys were doing something perverted."

"You're the perverted one. Harry fell in the shower. I don't think the ribs are cracked but he's going to have some bad bruising," Neville informed as he pressed on a rib further down.

"AH! Enough! Is there anything you can do?"

"I think I have a salve that will help. You'll still be sore and the skin will turn black for about a day but after that, they should be gone." Neville ran off to get the salve and the glare Seamus received when he continued his snickering had him out of the room in seconds.

Exos emerged from her hiding place, examining her master herself. "Perhaps, I shouldn't leave you alone in the bathroom. What caused you to hurt yourself?"

"The water was too hot. I wasn't paying attention and it startled me."

Red eyes drifted to the water that was still pouring down. "The water in the shower, is it hot?"

A confused look crossed his face as he reached his hand inside. "No, it's warm, not hot., but the water…I brought it to my face and it nearly burnt me."

There was a satisfied air to the red haired deviant as she stood at full height. "Today is an important day. It is the kind of day that will cause things to occur, that will lead to the choosing of a path for many. Do not become distracted."

She left as the others returned, tending to Harry and then proceeding with their own rituals. The rest of the morning went on as usual, the first two groups appeared to have made their exits without any resistance. All they could do for the time was hope that everyone else made it to their destination.

Harry and Hermione were walking to Herbology when they spotted Luna. The girl was standing in the yard staring up at the sky. Normally, they would have left her to whatever it was the blonde was doing as she tended to ignore them when she was so deep in thought. But Harry had a couple questions, ones that he wanted answered as soon as possible. Outside the walls was considerably safer than inside as far as speaking went so when Harry was within conversational distance he did not hesitate to speak.

"What are you looking at?" he asked as he followed her eyes to the clouded sky.

"The stars," she answered absently.

"…Luna, I wanted to ask you about some things." She showed no reaction, so he continued. "Why were you staring at the shadow last night? Exosatratus wasn't even there." She said nothing. "Why were you in the secret dungeon with her? How did you even know it was there? How do you know Elvish words, like when you call Draco Lhûg? How do you know so much about Exos?"

"Did you know that if you ask a firefly too many questions it will stop glowing?" she asked, completely countering all of his questions. Without actually telling them she had just taken a vow of silence. She was not going to tell them anything.

Hermione was getting impatient with the evasion. She liked the Ravenclaw girl just fine, until her strangeness reached its peak. At those times she became nothing short of a mosquito bite to Hermione. Harry drew in a deep breath of irritation himself. Just because he understood and accepted her did not mean she was incapable of exasperating him.

"Alright, will you tell me one thing, Luna? Can you see the future? Is that how you know what the best choices are and-"

"I do not see far things. I can only see deep things." She looked around, seeming to come out of a trance. "We should go to class."

As she walked off Harry and Hermione began walking to their own destination. "Do you know what she meant? I didn't understand that at all."

"She's saying that she's not a pre-cog. By 'deep things' I think she meant that she is more perceptive. She does notice things that other people don't, but that bit about fireflies was rubbish."

"I don't know, Hermione. Have you ever asked a firefly a question?" he asked with a playful gleam.

She didn't bother to answer him. None of his other questions had been addressed so he would remember them and ask again at another time. The professors did not seem particularly bothered by the absence of their students. People got sick in such chilled climates all the time, especially in autumn. No contact was made between the groups until they were able to meet face to face. The wards around the school prevented most outside communication and, if they hadn't, the children would have been too concerned about being intercepted.

The day rolled on at an annoyingly slow pace. When Astrology came Harry felt like he was clawing through his own skin due to his nerves. Neville was usually in this class with him but his group had already left. As Firenze lectured about why the planets moved in their order and why they had their moons and so on.

"My people believe that the reason Earth experiences so many extremes is because the planet resides between Venus and Mars. Who are polar opposites. As you know, we also use these and the other planets and stars to predict the future…"

At this, Harry's hand shot up. He remembered when the Centaur had told him about Mars and coming doom. Did that mean that if read correctly the whole future could be known? He never relied on what Trelawney had taught him, the woman was a useless teacher regardless of her gift and he had yet to understand why she had been given a position in the first place.

Seeing the savior's raised hand Firenze looked him strait in the eyes. "No, Harry Potter. We cannot tell you what will happen, how, or why. It does not work in that manner. We may be able to see when danger comes or prosperity. The things one sees in the heavens are usually vague and only inform us enough to be prepared. We do not have the ability to change anything, this is because the things that happen in the world are necessary. It is simply wrong for those that hold such knowledge to use it for their own gain."

Shocked that the Centaur would guess why he had wanted to know so quickly he said, "But then what good does knowing anything do? If you know it's bad and can't do anything about it then why bother to know in the first place?"

Ancient eyes gave him pity and tried to make him understand. "The future is never certain. By simply being aware of a possibility, you can change it. This is why we are forbidden to alter events, for we would constantly strive to change them to better suite us., but some things are so important that they have a will of their own and will happen whether we make them or not. Whether we want them to or not."

Harry mulled over the information through the rest of his class. When they were released it was already eight o'clock and the windows showed a sun that had almost completely descended. It was finally time for him to get out. Anticipation and nerves squirmed into his stomach anew, making him somewhat nauseous. Just as the dark haired boy stepped out of the class room Nick appeared before him. It was so sudden that Harry nearly walked straight through him.

"Whoa, there. Sorry to surprise you dear boy but you are wanted in the headmaster's office. He says that Miss Tonks will arrive shortly and he would like to speak with you," he informed merrily.

"Thanks, Nick." The ghost departed through one of the walls and Harry continued his decent to the dorms.

Inside his room, Harry found that most of his classmates possessions had been removed and felt very alone. He packed what little he still had lying about and shrank the trunk, tossing it into his pocket. Hermione was at the door, waiting for him. Together, they slipped under the Invisibility cloak and ran to the dungeons, careful not to run into any of the teachers still about. Though the students were not yet asleep most were now in their houses. At the portrait, they met Draco, who acted as casually as he would if he were just returning from the library. The painted man did not care and the other Slytherins did not question. Inside the common he sent his housemates away. Stating that he wanted to study there and they were a distraction.

Once the room was emptied the cloak was removed. Harry looked about with suspicion. "Are you ready to go?"

Draco glared just a little when he replied, "I've been waiting for you."

Hermione looked on in interest as the Snake Bearer moved aside, allowing them to scurry down the tunnel. The darkness was intense, the silence absolute. The end of Harry's wand illuminated the tight space enough for them to get where they were going but what was ahead of them more than three feet was a mystery. They passed the cell where Exos had lain, on up toward the rising door. Just as his hand touched the knob a shock current went straight through him. He let out a scream and flew back toward his friends.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed as she grabbed her friend to keep him from falling.

Draco kicked the door open, throwing up a shield to block the spells thrown their way. He recognized the gold streak of Confundo as it bounced back at its caster. "You fucking bastard!"

Harry righted himself, looking past Draco to see the headmaster standing in the darkness of the forest with Nymphadora Tonks at his side. The pink head looked rather furious. When he tried to push past the blonde, Draco only moved to hide him more. Hermione was looking past him as well, toward the imposing duo.

"Draco Malfoy, let Harry go!" Tonks shouted. The three students were instantly confused but the blonde quickly realized what had prompted the accusation.

The wizened man stepped toward them with a kind, concerned look on his face. "Mr. Malfoy, if you stop this right now I can help you."

Hermione pushed past the Slytherin. "What are you talking about, Professor?"

"Come here, child. We don't want you to get hurt. Mr. Malfoy was trying to persuade Harry to leave the school for some time now; to bring him to the Dark Lord. I know about the other students leaving. They are being collected by Professor McGonagall and Hagrid at this moment," he informed with a straight face. Again Draco was thought of how well the man could lie.

"That's impossible! Draco opposed this whole plan. How could he have made Harry choose this?" she asked. It was clear that she was seeing the logic but still combating it with her own.

Tonks turned her attention to the girl only briefly. "Pure Bloods learn all kinds of spells that normal people don't even know exist. Plenty of them have to do with controlling the will of others."

The curly haired girl looked back at the aristocrat, remembering that he and Harry had spent a great deal of time together very recently. That he hadn't neglected to attack Harry even when all his friends knew that they had come to a supposed understanding. She then wondered if the two had done something other than sleep together when she had sent her friend with the Prince of Slytherin. Perhaps he had cast the spell on Harry then, something to make him do things he didn't want to without knowing they were the desires of another. Then Hermione noticed that Harry was still trying to get past Draco and failing. The silver eyes were not looking to her for reassurance or trust. They were trained on the bearded man, watching every subtle move he made for signs of attack.

She stepped backward toward the door. Draco pulled her closer and whispered under his breath, "I'm going to attack, then you go. Don't apparate directly to the station, they'll follow you. When you get there, don't wait for anyone just go."

Harry grabbed his arm. "No-"

"Now!" Draco shouted as he threw Depulso at the elder magicians. Hermione grabbed Harry and pulled him along as she bolted into the dark woods.

"Stop! We can't leave him!"

"We are," she shouted back. She grabbed Harry's hand and threw them through to Hogsmead, then to the Shrieking Shack. She was jumping to slow their pursuers down and keep them confused. As Hermione lifted her wand to jump again, there was a crackle in the air and Tonks appeared right in front of them. Instead of attacking them she threw her arms around Harry in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank Merlin! Are you two alright?" she asked, looking them both over for wounds of any kind.

Harry pulled away from her. "What are you doing?"

"I should bloody well be asking you that question. How careless were you being to allow Draco Malfoy of all people to cast a spell on you? Well, it seems to have worn off now," she observed as she started walking toward the tunnel out.

The raven haired boy pulled out his own wand and tried to grab Hermione's hand but she was walking away from him toward Tonks. Her and her damned reason. "Tonks! Harry wasn't under any spells. There are reasons for what we're doing."

She turned to face the girl and looked into her eyes. "It doesn't seem like he's put a spell on you."

"Because he hasn't! We-," she began to explain as there was another sound pop behind her. Where Harry once stood there was now Draco. The elder woman jumped in front of her friend and started to cast a spell. Hermione tackled her from behind, giving Draco enough time to cast Incarcerouson her.

"Where's Harry?" he demanded to know as he helped the burnet right the bound woman.

"He was just here…" Horror fell upon her face as she realized where he'd gone.

In the darkness of the Forest Harry approached the now sunken door where he had left Draco, but there was no one there. Signs of a struggle were evident in the fallen leaves but the combatants were gone. As he stepped closer to examine the area a dark figure stepped out of the darkness. The man with the long white beard stood facing what would have been his favorite student.

"Mr. Malfoy has been taught well. He managed to escape and give me a rather ugly wound," he said casually as he placed a hand on his bleeding shoulder.

Harry was starting to see red, crimson bloody red. "Why did you need me? From the moment you left me at my aunt's house you were planning to use me, weren't you? You made me stay with them when Remus could have cared for me, when you could have saved Sirius. All this smoke and fucking mirrors. For what?"

Albus smiled at his young puppet. Truly, the boy was smarter than he seemed and, of course, stronger than he had ever been lead to believe. "It wasn't you I needed dear boy. It was the Chosen One. You or Longbottom, it wouldn't have mattered. Trelawney isn't the first real pre-cog that I have found. I knew another when I was young by the name of Amitiel. He told me that someday there would be a great war between wizards of good and evil. If the hero of the good won, there would never be another war among our kind ever again. That the example set by that hero would lead us into a new age of peace and he would become a powerful leader for our race. He also told me about the leader of the dark wizards, who was of course Tom, and how I could stop the boy from becoming twisted and beginning this war in the first place, but if we do not fight then the world will go on as it is, the prejudices will remain, and we will eventually destroy each other. Pure Bloods hate mudbloods and feuds between Pure Blood families are so easily begun. Eventually the tension would have become too great and they would all have destroyed each other. I never intended to harm you, Harry. You must live…and WIN, but certain events had to occur."

The anger bubbled and roared in his blood. "Certain events? Like allowing Tom to become Voldemort? Like letting him kill my parents, other peoples parents? By destroying people's lives just so more could die? All of that for a war that could have been prevented and so that I could defeat the person you let Tom become!"

"Yes. All of that is truly unfortunate, but it had to happen. It could not have happened any other way." The blue eyes did not twinkle as they usually did. Now, they shone with determination and conviction.

_The future is never certain. By simply being aware of a possibility, you can change it, but some things are so important that they have a will of their own and will happen whether we make them or not. Whether we want them to or not. _

He took a deep breath, suddenly feeling absolved. His shoulders squared and he met those damned blue eyes with hardened green. "If the war is so important to our existence, then it would have happened anyway. It would have happened even if you had saved Tom. Even if you had protected my parents."

"Perhaps, but this was the only way to know," he said softly. The old wizard turned to his right just slightly so that the boy would not see what he was doing.

Harry was furious with the man that had played a power game that was, literally, lifetimes in the making. All to supposedly save them? No, he couldn't believe that it was that simple, or pure. If he had helped Tom then the boy would never have become the monster. If the feuds were so bad they would have all killed each other centuries ago. He had to find a way to escape. Just as he was about to turn and run the old man pulled out his wand. Without a word a static flash of red spouted toward him. As the spell came closer darkness engulfed him, arms wrapping around his middle. As he was pulled backward into the black he caught one glimpse of an ashen face. Then, the world went dark.

* * *

A/N: Amitiel – Angel of truth


	8. Run Away

Chapter Eight: Run Away

Stained

Why the bloody hell did everything have to start this way? He would take a few steps forward only to have the ground sink out from under him. His life seemed to be repetitive like that. Harry could only hear what was happening around him, his mind still fogged and unable to process it properly. What exactly had happened in the forest with Dumbledore he wasn't sure. There had been darkness, not cold or warm, it simply was and he had been plummeting through it like a comet. It felt strangely comfortable, almost right. This was what scared him as well, that wherever he had been was not a place for living mortals and he had felt at home.

He was lying on something soft if not very wide and was thankful that it wasn't the floor like usual. A very irate voice had risen amongst the more worried ones. It was growing in volume as the person closed in on him. The voice was like silk being ripped in half, smooth but furious. Another irritated voice rose up as the others died off, saying, "Back off, Malfoy! He isn't even conscious yet."

"No, you back off, Weasley! I'm going to hex him awake, then I'll beat some sense into that worthless lightning bolt head of his!"

Opening his eyes was easy enough but the sudden light made it difficult to open them fully. The instant emerald met silver Draco threw himself past Harry's guard and grabbed hold of the front of his robes. "What the bloody hell's wrong with you? Huh? I told you to go! I get in one good shot, apparate to you and Granger, and you're NOT THERE! I told you to go but you never listen to anyone, do you? Because the great Harry-"

The screaming blonde was effectively silenced by Harry as he pulled the other boy to him, hugging him close. Draco melted into the hold for a moment, reveling in the solid contact. Harry was there, he was fine, he was a bloody idiot! Draco pulled back quickly and slapped the raven across the face. "Don't you ever go back for me or anyone else. Understand?"

With a hand to his stinging cheek, Harry nodded. The slap had been hard but it had been serious too, so he would not be mad about it. It wasn't in him to leave someone, anyone, behind but he wouldn't tell Draco at the moment. The blonde was still pretty pissed. Hermione and Ron nearly threw the Slytherin out of the way to embrace their friend. The second they pulled away Ron shot Draco a death glare and Hermione smacked her friend upside the head.

Whipping his head back to the brain, Ron looked at the girl in surprise. "Hermione!"

"Quiet, Ron," she ordered simply before turning back to the scar headed boy. "Listen to Draco! We didn't go through all the trouble of running away and saving you just so you could turn around and sprint towards danger."

Everyone was so angry. He looked at them all with an apology in his eyes as well as on his tongue. "I'm sorry. I couldn't leave him with Dumbledore. How are you all here? I thought Hagrid and McGonagall came for you at the station."

Nott growled from his perch across the car that they seemed to have clamed for themselves. The boy stood from his seat and approached the throng of people surrounding Harry, who was pulling himself up to sit on the seats. "We would have been taken if Loony hadn't dragged us onto a different train."

Luna showed no sign of being offended, but none of the others appreciated the rude nick name. It was going to be hard enough to get along as it was. Harry looked around, observing that everyone was okay, all heads and limbs were accounted for. It was a nice enough train, though far more modern than the one taken to Hogwarts. The entire car was well light with electricity, everything was sleek and new. Cho and Seamus were standing at the only doors as guards, watching for both train personnel and threats.

"If we're on a different train, then where are we going?"

"France," Luna answered simply, moving closer to him. "We can change trains there. I have some extra muggle currency, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay. What happened anyway?" he asked, looking for the Demon. She was seated near the window opposite him, now in a school uniform that had clearly been altered to fit her, the long red hair had been cut to waist length. The others had also removed their cloaks, probably by Hermione's instruction so they wouldn't stand out quite as much. They still needed to change into more muggle like clothing or anyone in the wizarding world would be able to recognize their uniforms.

He was taken from his thoughts when Blaise spoke. "We were hoping you could explain that one. You kind of fell out of a shadow in the corner of the station. Lucky we saw you or you would have been thoroughly screwed. I had to go back to tell Hermione and Draco."

Hermione blushed insanely at the use of her first name from the dark Frenchman. Harry saw it and would have laughed if it hadn't been a more serious situation. He looked at the red haired Demon. "What did you do exactly?"

She looked to her master with full attention. "I pulled you through the darkness. It is not so difficult for my kind. I would have revealed my presence sooner but the elder was waiting for me. I do not know what he would have done but he was planning something."

"Looked to me like you scared the life out of him."

She almost smiled and nodded. "Not quite, it was my intent to show him that I was dangerous. The sight of an emerging Demon has terrified many before."

Hannah spoke up, stuttering as she did. "So, w-what now?"

"We ride this train and then take the next one to Germany," He stated firmly. Leaning back into the seat to relax, he was surprisingly tired. Everyone dispersed, trying to find comfortable seats to rest in. Draco took the seat to his right, his face challenging anyone there to comment on it. Hermione sat on his left, a thick book appeared in her lap instantly. Though Harry knew she did not use magic to carry her books most of the time, it often seemed like she did. Ronald was pacing the car, full of nervous energy that would not yet be sated.

He tried to stay awake as long as he could, feeling that it was his responsibility to watch over the others. Also, it seemed that the dreams he had been having over the last couple weeks were even more bizarre than the ones he often had about Voldemort and, in some ways, far more frightening. Harry stared off into space, patiently waiting for the train to reach its destination. After an hour or so, Draco's head lulled and came to rest on Harry's shoulder and Hermione soon followed. The contact broke his blank stare, Harry looked around the train car, noticing that everyone but the two standing guard, who had changed to Dean and Blaise, were also sleeping. The only ones still awake that were not doing anything were himself and Exos.

Harry made a soft sound to draw her attention away from the window. When the red eyes were upon his, he asked softly, "Why don't you sleep?"

"Unlike most species, mine does not require regeneration through rest. All we need is a constant supply of life energy from our Masters."

"But, you don't all have Masters… Do you? I mean, you're the only Demon in this dimension, so how do your kin live?" He asked somewhat tentatively. For some reason it occurred to him that he might not be the best person to be interrogating the red haired creature. Someone smarter like Hermione or Remus, even Luna, would be able to come up with far better and more logical questions than he could.

This didn't seem to bother Exos though, as she drew in a low breath. "Do you know our history? How we came into being or what happened before we left this plane of existence?"

The quality to her questions far exceeded his. Deciding to be honest and gain as much information as he could, he shook his head a little, trying not to disrupt the other two heads resting on his shoulders. "All I really know is that you were here before humans and the Angels sent you away."

She nodded. "Both of those things are true, but there is a great deal more to us than that. You see, we were born with the earth and the sky. We have existed as long and it is most likely that there was nothing before. These were our forefathers though and they are long dead. Most that exist now are only a few millennia old. We were the oldest and most powerful, but all things change eventually. More life came into being and the world began to fill. We know not how you came into being, though, you look so much like us."

She paused in, what seemed to be, deep thought. Harry was unconsciously leaning toward her as far as he could. It was fascinating, like being told a fairytale he thought. Even if he had never experienced anything like that himself when he was young. She looked back at him and continued in her story.

"Now that I think about it, it is most likely that the similarity in appearance is what drew us to you. Both we and the Angels were taken with the fragility of your race, yet when given opportunity you proved capable of amazing things. Soon you started to grow in numbers. Almost terrifyingly so. We are dark creatures that loved to feed off of you weakers, would have fed from your blood for the rest of eternity. Our twin races are as polar opposites. They glide and sing, we thrash and scream. They are all for their tranquility while we love nothing more than blood mixed chaos. The angles wanted peace and detested bloodshed for many reason. Yet, in effort to allow your race to live, we went to war. The Angels had already chosen a home for themselves in another plane and they thought it wise to send us to one of our own. There were seven of them that proved particularly able to counter us. So, Briathos, Eae, Iaoth, Leo, Karael, Rathanael, and Rizoel threw us into the Dark."

Still engrossed in fascination, Harry had almost forgotten his original question. Exos was not the kind that usually lost herself in speech so the question was not ignored. The train rumbled just a little as she went on.

"You have many names for Death and often portray it as a male in a dark cloak. This is not necessarily right nor wrong. Death is as a god to you, it is constant, everlasting, and undeniable. Though one may push his hands away for a time, none can escape his tender grasp. He is like a father to us and the Angels. He was here even before we took our first breaths. I said that there was nothing before us and this is accurate; there was nothing but Death. When we came he took us as his children and taught us about the world. Those of us that loved his darker work were the ones that became Demons and those that respected his role in this universe were the Angels. Death is more a part of us than he is of you. This is why the only way for us to die is by killing each other or by our masters' blood. In the contract, you said, "Your life is mine. My death is yours." This made my life dependant upon yours. If you were to die, I would die."

Confusion and surprise flashed on Harry's face as the words he had heard in his mind were spoken back to him in clear English. "What do you mean, contract?"

"That is what the incantation that brought me to this plane is. A contract. It binds servant to master in both life and blood," she informed smoothly. It did surprise her that the one that was her master knew not what he had truly done and consoled herself with the decision to speak with the other participants later.

Looking to the curly haired burnet she said, "Would you like me to repeat the full incantation?"

Harry's eyes shot over to Hermione, whose head had not moved from his shoulder but was still taking frantic notes on a piece of parchment. When she felt his attention on her, she extracted herself from him and smiled a little sheepishly.

"I didn't want to disrupt the conversation, but yes," she said, redirecting her attention to Exos. "I would like to hear the incantation and would you be willing to give a descriptive account of the ritual?"

The pale face smiled ever so slightly, "You remind me of Barman."

Hermione sat up with even more intrigue. "Barman?"

"He is the Angel of intelligence. I remember him, always with his questions. It often seemed that he had a quill and paper physically attached to his hands. He was an annoyance to many of us but always helpful," she informed.

The girl wasn't sure if she should be offended or flattered. She eventually decided that neither was quite appropriate since the Demon had simply made an observation of similar natures and not an outright compliment. She moved to sit a few seats away from the creature, still not comfortable with being too close, and continued her questions throughout the ride.

As he watched the two females interacting, Harry leaned his head down to the blonde hair that was so close to his face. He breathed in Draco's fragrance once again, thinking that he really loved that smell more than any other he had smelt before. It was effeminate but strong, and you could only smell it when you were close enough to the owner that you could touch him. Not brave enough to actually try sleeping, Harry let his mind wonder into a fog.

Draco was wide awake, with that thing so close he would die before sleep. He had learned more about Demons and their nature than he truly wanted to know. Learning about dark creatures, even ones that he might never meet in his entire existence, was just something that came with being a Pure Blood. He could even tell Granger about half of what the creature was saying to her. The blonde felt a gentle breath on his head and knew that the raven was breathing him in. He smirked evilly in happiness as he realized that the Gryffindor might actually have an attraction to him. No matter how far he came, he was still a Slytherin and if pursuing the great Harry Potter in a romantic sense would keep him and his companions safer, he was not above using the opportunity for preservation. Draco felt the slightest pang of guilt as he thought about using the green eyed boy in such a way. He had begun to see him as a person more than some kind of pompous idol and couldn't say that he completely disliked him. He had started to become physically attracted to Harry but this said nothing about an emotional attraction, and emotions were certainly part of the Gryffindor characteristics.

He realized how true this was as he watched the dark skinned lion exchange his post with the most cowardly of the pride. Once Longbottom had taken his position, Thomas seated himself next to the Irishman, his dark eyes tracing the face again and again until they started to droop and his head fell upon the headrest. The attraction was so blatantly obvious he wondered how it was even possible to ignore it, then remembered the thick headedness that accompanied that emotional attribute. Yet, what he saw next was one of the most surprising things he had seen in all his life. As Pansy took the place of Blaise, she stared down the isle directly at Longbottom. She stared and looked, clearly thinking deep thoughts meant only for herself, for a full five minutes. Since when had his friend taken an interest in the boy? Granted he had become more attractive over the years they had spent at school, but it seemed to Draco that the personality just didn't fit one that would usually perk Pansy's interest. Then again, he had also noticed Blaise's constant flirtation with Granger of all people. Now his mind was submerged in wondering just when his housemates had deigned it safe to play with lions.

Soon the blonde boy had no energy left for his complex thoughts and was forced to either drift or sleep. So, his mind started to float about, toward the many uncomfortable topics that he had been avoiding, like his parents, Severus, the Dark Lord, and that crazy old bastard. He still felt like beating Harry just to make sure that the young man got it into his head that he was not supposed to be endangering his life. That may have been common with his flimsy friends that would do whatever his great presence beckoned but it was going to change with Draco. The statement was not entirely accurate he knew and was still in a bit of a bitchy mood.

Eventually, a stewardess came around with her cart. A scarce few of the group made their request for nourishment. Luckily, they were mostly common enough things like water, coffee, or some cookies. It was only when Lavender asked for a Sugar Quill that the girl was given an odd look. Candies, however, can be strange in both appearance and name and also vary all over the world, so this was not quite so strange as many of the other things that could have occurred with the mostly ignorant group.

Once the woman was gone they settled in again. Exos placed a glass of water on the foldable tables in front of both Harry and Draco. She did not speak but it was clear enough what she wanted them to do without verbal actions. The two males put their pale fingers in the glasses and concentrated to the best of their abilities. The state of the water in the glasses did not change which frustrated Harry more than Draco. He knew he was able to at least change the temperature so it irritated him greatly that he was unable to do so again.

"Anything," he asked the blonde. Draco scowled slightly which seemed to translate to a 'no.' "What do you think about when you're doing this?"

"I don't think about anything. I will the water to change," the other growled. It was starting to piss him off, if the damned thing said he should be able to do it then why couldn't he?

Harry looked away from the ivory face. He twirled his finger around in the water, trying to think of something that would encourage it to change. Soon he settled on Dumbledore and, later, Voldemort. They both angered him greatly and, to some degree, scared him. As he thought about his past with both men and did his best to decipher their complex relationship with what little new information he had. It was disturbing to him that the man he had idolized was willing to sacrifice people in order to achieve his end, even if he believed it was for the greater good. As the thoughts of the men and their sacrifices floated in his mind, he felt his blood begin to chill in anger. Apparently, the water had the same reaction, because no sooner had he felt a deep vein of rage burst in him than his finger stopped moving. The water had frozen solid, trapping his finger in the glass.

He hissed his surprise and irritation. "Damn."

Draco looked from his own work to see what had bothered the boy when he himself stopped moving all together. "What the hell? How did you do that, Potter?"

Harry squirmed under the glare that was prodding him. Luna approached the pair as though in slow motion, placing the tip of her wand on the ice, which melted instantly. "Harry found a method that works for him. Emotions can be very strong."

The raven looked back at the blonde with an apologetic face. He really was sorry that he had somehow made Draco seem less than him, that was not his intent. Draco wasn't looking at him though, he was concentrating on his own water and trying to use his current irritation to alter it.

The pale girl shook her head. "No, if you're going to use emotions they must be strong."

"I think my irritation is plenty strong, thank you, Lovegood," he snipped.

She shook her head slowly, everything she did was oddly sloth like, possibly, because she was quite tired herself. The blonde girl leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Try something that makes your insides squirm."

The sentence seemed very creepy coming from the aloof Ravenclaw. To avoid truly thinking about what she had said, Draco grabbed his glass and downed the water in one go, then glared at her. She smiled and drifted toward Hermione and Exos, seating herself only a seat away from the red. The train became quietly still in both nervousness and exhaustion. As the children that could were lulled into sleep by the motion of the train, the others avoided eye contact while their minds drifted toward the abyss.

The sun was nowhere near the horizon when the train stopped and everyone filed out. The platform was flowing with people but not yet packed with commuters. Hermione, who had not even thought of sleeping since she started talking to Exos, stood near the center of the group with energy that made them glare at her as much as the sun.

"We're going to take the next train to Germany that leaves in two hours. We'll buy our tickets, get some food, and come back," she instructed flawlessly.

Harry spoke up. "We should get into some other clothes too. We're a little conspicuous dressed like this, don't you think?"

The brunet smiled at him. "Of course, some of us have muggle clothes with us. We can share and buy cheap clothes for the others. Let's go, quickly."

Luna trudged back to them, though no one was quite sure when she'd left, tickets in hand. They were distributed individually and group split into genders, all heading for the bathroom to change. The boys took far less time than the girls, emerging in everyday jumpers and jeans. People such as Draco, Zabini, Nott, and even Neville, had no such clothes. With a little persuading for two and a great deal of pestering for the other, three were soon wearing donated clothes from their schoolmates. Draco stood firmly, stating that he would not dress in someone else's clothes, never mind that they were muggle made. He even glared at Ron's jumper as though it intended to come alive and bite him. So he wore only his trousers and slightly unbuttoned, un-tucked shirt.

The girls did take their sweet time, fixing their makeup or rinsing out their mouths while they dressed. Most had few qualms about sharing clothing of any kind so they were eventually dressed. Luna managed to somehow stand out even though she had dressed in normal clothes. Her long white skirt, paired with a white jumper which had embroidered wings on the back, and matching boots. Over all, the girl looked like she was ready for a Winter Pageant. The others tended to stick to skirts but did dress more like muggle girls.

Once all were dressed and ready they left for a deli on the streets, relying on Luna to pay the bill and Hermione to know how. Their meals were simple and quick so that they would be able to catch the train to Germany, which would be leaving in less than half an hour. With their appetites satisfied they left the little shop, the sky was still dark and filled with stars but it would not be long before they would disappear. The station had become surprisingly fuller in the short time they had been gone. With their tickets in hand they tried to push their way to the train. Over the audio speakers, a woman announced that their train would be departing within the next five minutes.

As the doors closed the group sighed in relief, things had gone fairly smooth since they had regrouped. It was going so well that Harry was starting to feel edgy. Never had things in his life just gone smoothly. Still there was no disturbance to indicate that there was something off about what was going on around them.

They sat in a tight group in one of the cars, unable to acquire their own since there were now more people riding than before. The train started to move, the noise toned down as people took their places and settled in for the ride. Twelve minutes of peace existed for the exhausted teenagers, the warmth and steady motion a comfort that was very tempting to follow into sleep. Soon, Neville had to get up to use the restroom before truly relaxing. As he closed the door behind him, intent on walking back to his friends, he heard a fluttering of robes coming from down the isle. He turned to look and saw four men in dark robes strolling towards him. They did not seem to notice the mousy boy as they were too busy trying to get through the somewhat crowded isle to look up at that second.

Neville rushed through the door, nearly slamming it shut behind him. The group was at the other end of the car and the ones facing him looked up with concern when he came rushing towards them.

Hermione stood up to address him. "Neville, what's the matter?"

"There are people coming. I think they're Aurors," he whispered to them, as though the men could here him from wherever they were in the other car.

Harry stood with Hermione and the others started to wake people, drawing their attention to the situation. They got up and quickly started to file down toward the back of the train. As Crabb exited the car, Luna and Harry just behind him, the other door slid open to reveal the men from before. The instant their eyes met the cloaked men increased their walking speed.

Harry turned around shouting, "Run!"

They were flying down the aisles, trying to avoid obstacles such as luggage and people.

They had only made it to the end of the next passenger car when the doors behind them were flung open to reveal the men. They started running as fast as they could, the Aurors only paces behind them now. Faster and faster they ran, to the very end of the train. The group pushed through to the luggage car which was nearly pitch dark.

Luna, Pansy, and Neville were the closest to the large door through which the bags were loaded. As they all pressed in as close to the door as they could, awaiting their attackers, there was a disturbance at the other end where more of the Aurors came running straight for them. Exos stood in front of her master and was quickly joined by Draco and Hermione. Harry pulled out his own wand but had trouble finding a space between his defenders.

"Lower your wands and come with us peacefully, children. No one needs to get hurt," one of the less seasoned Aurors with strawberry blonde hair instructed.

The group didn't budge. Neville used the wall of people in front of him to hide is actions. While they had their stand off, he was feeling along the wall in the dark, looking for the handle to the door. By the time the other Aurors had joined the gathering he had unlocked it and had the handle in his hand.

He leaned close to Vincent whispering, "When I say go, grab as many as you can and follow me."

The stout young man didn't indicate that he understood, he simply looked to Gregory while grabbing hold of Hannah's arm. The other boy imitated him, sliding an arm around one of the other party members. Their gathering of people was so smooth that the people standing in front of them didn't even notice, though they may have been more concerned with Harry and Draco.

"Like hell," Draco retorted with poison on his tongue.

Hermione attempted to be a diplomat again. "We aren't doing anything wrong. We can talk and sort this whole thing out."

A man with spiky brown hair nodded saying, "Sure, princess. Let's talk this out, no reason to get all anxious, right?"

Two of the flanking members of the adult group grinned viciously, not even trying to hide the fact that they were about to attack the students. The train jerked swayed slightly and the light blinked for a moment. In that moment, binding spells were screamed and Neville took his opportunity.

"Go," he shouted as he threw the sliding door to the side, grabbed the nearest person and threw himself from the train. The others followed shortly after, most of them jumping themselves or being pushed out by their comrades. They hit the ground running, literally for a few. As soon as they had managed to right themselves they were off, into the woods that they had been passing through when they jumped. None of them knew if everyone was with them or how far behind them the Aurors were. They were just running.

This chase in the dark was far too familiar to Harry. He knew this wasn't his dream, his friends were running somewhere near by, he wasn't changing into an animal, and Voldemort was nowhere near by. Still, as he ran from their pursuers, he felt the creeping feeling of panic. He was in the back of the fleeing group, having been one of the last to eject himself from the train. The trees were whipping past them as they ran desperately for escape.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him and spun on his still moving heal to catch a glimpse of a stone-faced man coming up behind him. He shouted something that he couldn't quite hear over the pounding of his heart and the man dropped to the ground, growling in anger. He didn't stop long enough to think about what he had done to the man. It was only a few minutes before he was too winded to run anymore. Dropping to the ground near a tree, he tried to stay still and silent.

He could hear the pounding of feet on the leaf covered ground and nothing else. The man he had attacked was no longer growling. The black haired boy tried to slow his breathing in the chilly dark. The feet grew further and further away. Once everything was silence, he tentatively stood. Seeing no danger, he was about to start running again when he felt the tip of a wand at the back of his neck.

"No reason to keep running, Potter. We aren't going to hurt you. We're just sent here to take you back to school. Do you remember? Draco Malfoy is not your friend, you don't want to go with him." The words were spoken steadily, in an awful hollow voice. This person didn't care if they had to hurt him to get him to go, they just knew it wouldn't cause as much of a fuss.

He couldn't reach for his wand, he wasn't even sure it was wise to turn around. "Draco is my friend. I won't go back to that dungeon."

"Friends don't put friends in dungeons," the voice said almost mockingly.

"Draco didn't put me anywhere. The dungeon is that castle…Where everything you say is heard by someone and they always know where you are and what you're doing." If he could get the Auror to drop his guard just a little, maybe he could make a grab for his wand.

"I believe that's for your protection, young man."

"I know."

There was a bolt of blue light and the wand was gone from his neck. Harry turned around to see the man on the ground unconscious and Ron standing a few trees to the right. The red head ran to his friend and grabbed his arm, dragging him further into the trees. They stopped after about half a mile in a small glade. As they caught their breath, bodies started sneaking out from behind the trees.

When Draco saw Harry he marched straight up to him. His hair was mussed and his clothes covered in dirt and leaves. "What took you so long?"

Harry panted a little as he looked into the silvery eyes that sparked quite unhappily. "One of them caught up with me."

"He had a wand pressed to Harry's neck. I got there in time to stun the bastard," Ron supplied incredulously, as he looked at the people gathered around them.

Draco's face contorted in anger. "Where was that Demon of yours? I thought her job was to protect you."

The black haired boy shook his head, he didn't know where Exos had disappeared to. The only ones that seemed to have made it off the train without landing in a pile of limbs were Luna and Seamus. The others were a little rumpled and would probably sport a few bruises but nothing too bad. There was a rustle near by and Exos appeared, again in her black robes.

The Slytherin Prince rounded on the creature, growling, "Where were you? They almost got him."

Her red eyes slid from one pale face to another. She stepped a little closer saying, "I was disposing of our pursuers."

"Well, clearly you weren't doing a very good job!"

Eyes widened but no one dared to gasp. Hermione stepped up to the pair that seemed to be having something of a stare down. "Um, that's not what Draco means. He's just worried-"

"Butt out, Granger. I know what I'm saying and what I mean by it. It's this beast's job to protect your Wonder Boy and she is doing a poor job. The only reason he wasn't taken is because Weasley happened to be there," he ranted.

The red eyed Demon got in his face now, just a breath away from touching him. "I am only capable of so much. You old bloods think you know everything about the darkness but you only know glimpses of what it holds and what it really is. I am not some god sent here to alter the realities of the world in order to save my Master. I am a guardian and teacher, that is all I can be."

Draco didn't back down, it didn't matter that the thing was so close that he could see where the pupils should have been in her eyes or that he was scared as hell. He was pissed, she was supposed to be powerful enough to protect her master at all times and Harry was a walking target. She shouldn't have been allowed to travel ten feet from his side.

"I don't care if you're not a deity. Stay with him. It's your job to protect him, not ours." The Gryffindors looked at each other and gesturing toward Draco subtly as they were able.

She lowered her voice to a dangerous purr that sounded more like a growl. "Would you prefer that I watch over him when he goes into the shower? Or when he shares a bed with you? It doesn't really matter what you want because I do not follow your orders, but it would be wise for you to keep in mind that I could be anywhere and I am far more perceptive than you would wish for me to be."

As Draco looked on with wide angry eyes she stepped past him toward Harry who was not liking the exchange at all but wasn't willing to get in the middle. The silent conversation between the lion house was cut short when Pansy decided it was time for progress to be made.

The black haired girl took a step out of the ring that had unintentionally been formed to address the group. "So, what now? The Aurors won't be following us for a while I take it. Should we begin walking before others come or should we wait about like useless pixies?"

Hermione looked at the sky briefly, measuring the placement of the stars with where they had come from. "We only made it about five or so miles out of the city. If we aren't careful we'll probably run into some people living out here. We could head back to Paris or we could continue to follow Canis Minoris until we reach another town. Either way, we'll need somewhere to rest soon."

Harry looked about them but saw only trees, no lights indicating civilization. "How far is the next town?"

"Ten miles from Paris, so about fifteen."

He hughed in frustration. "It will probably be easier to hide in a large city. We'll walk back to Paris and rent a room. After we rest for a bit we'll start walking to Germany."

"Walking!" Seamus exclaimed.

"We can't take the train again. Can any of you drive?" Silence and some confusion met him. "Alright then. We're walking, let's go."

They marched in the silent darkness of the woods. None were in the best shape to be making such long treks at the moment anyway, with such little sleep and having just jumped out of a moving train. People don't do that and walk away with no injuries at all. Thankfully, it hadn't reached top speeds when they had so ungracefully flung themselves from it. Otherwise they would have been a lot worse.

Harry eventually fell somewhat behind the rest, though he didn't notice their eyes on him. Exos walked at the very back of the lot, as a tactical method. He wasn't worried about her seeing what he was about to do as he was the others. He pulled out the lighter and cigarettes he had in his pocket and lit one, taking a deep breath of the smoke. After a couple drags, Draco had fallen back to walking next to him.

"You know you're lucky they're up wind from you. If they smelt that smoke they would be all over your worthless arse," he informed as he wrapped his arms around himself against the chilling wind.

The black haired boy looked at the cherry end of the stick. "Still mad at me?"

"Do you run around screaming for the attention of ever dangerous thing in the universe or does your luck just suck this much?"

He glared at the offending cherry as it fell to the ground. "Well, you know how much of an attention deprived orphan I am."

Draco fell quiet at the bitter sarcasm. It was true though, Harry was an attention deprived orphan. He needed so desperately for someone to pat him on the shoulder and tell him what a good job he had done that he didn't seem to even realize how his pain affected others. So long as he took care of other people it didn't seem to matter all that much what happened to him. The snake in Malfoy's gut coiled at the thought.

"I'm not exactly angry. I just don't understand how you draw so much danger," he said in a less threatening tone.

Harry drew in another lungful. "It's real easy. All I have to do is breath and buildings start to fall in around me."

"Enough of the sarcasm, Potter. It doesn't suit you." He waved a hand at the smoke that curled around his face as Harry blew it out. The blonde coughed a little in offence.

"Don't call me that."

"What? Potter?"

The slightly shorter boy nodded.

"It's your name."

"We've shared a bed and you've saved my life once or twice now. I think we can call each other by our first names, can't we?"

Saying that Draco was shocked was certainly an understatement. He drew his eyes back to their normal size and struggled to find an argument for why they should never call each other by their first names when Granger came rushing up to Harry.

The crazy haired brunet did exactly as Draco had done only days before. She grabbed the cigarette from his lips and threw it to the ground, though she stomped on it for good measure. "Harry, since when do you smoke?"

She sounded quite angry, or was it disappointed? But the male didn't look away as he kept on walking. He met her eyes straight on stating, "A couple months now. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal! It's very unhealthy, you could get any number of cancers. Plus, your teeth will change color and rot." He sometimes forgot that her parents were dentists, but it was instances like this that he was reminded.

The others had all stopped walking to watch the exchange. Ron was walking up to the two, looking like he was going to start in on the boy too, but when he met them he took a hold of Hermione's arm and pulled the girl away, shaking his head. He sent a look to Harry as he left, clearly indicating something that Draco couldn't understand. They walked on into the night, closer and closer to the blaring sounds of the waking city.

* * *

A/N: Canis Minoris - the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor, "The Little Dog". Easily visible with the naked eye.

Barman – Angel of Intelegence


	9. Bleed

Chapter Nine: Bleed

Evanescence

The city had really come to life, the lights for early risers were bright and cars and people were bustling around loudly trying to make it through their morning commutes. Draco watched the oblivious muggles as they went about their lives. They knew nothing about their impending deaths or the struggle the teenagers in the hotel room above them had gone through just the night before, never mind the past.

He detested the muggles, that would never really change. It wasn't so much their lack of magic, that was more a fact of nature. It wasn't their life styles, though they were not as highly educated as they should have been most of the time. No, none of that bothered him to any great length. It was the blindness. They had no idea that their folk lore and storybooks were full of real, or at least close to real, things. The muggles lived in lives full of truly blissful ignorance and Draco hated nothing more than ignorance.

His silvery eyes shifted from the streets outside to the head in his lap. He didn't sleep nearly as much as Harry when they shared a bed, he had spent hours observing the aspects of the boy's face. The black haired boy was a clinger, maybe because he had never had someone to hold in his sleep when he was young, but he held onto Draco's body as though he might drown without it. His arms were currently wrapped around the blonde boy's middle with his head resting in his lap, face pressed close to his stomach. Of all his lovers, there had never been one that held onto him as tightly as Harry and they had never even kissed. Looking at the sound sleeper, he almost felt bad about his intended deception. Then he consoled himself by remembering that it was to protect himself and the few people that relied on him.

The small room was covered, wall to wall, in teenagers. They littered the floor like a second layer of carpet. On the floor between the two twin sized beds that had been claimed by Pansy, Theo, Vincent, and Greg, Hermione had laid next to Luna in hopes that no one would bother her if she were near the odd blonde. Her eyes fluttered open as she felt movement beside her. Turning her head she met the amused brown eyes of Blaise who had apparently crawled right next to her some time ago as her side was warm from his closeness.

"What are you doing?" she demanded lowly, trying not to draw attention.

He raised an almost innocent eye brow. "Trying to get some sleep. It looked comfortable here and the rest of the room was already taken up."

The intelligent girl blushed furiously as the dark boy snuggled close without actually touching her. Her brain was battling itself with the desire to shove him away and the want for him to put his arm around her. She reasoned with herself that the latter was just a want for human comfort that she wouldn't ask for from her friends. Blaise seemed to notice her indecision and calmly slid his arm around her waist, drawing her close to him.

"Don't worry," he said to her look of scandal. "Almost everyone's asleep and I won't tell anyone we cuddled."

Hermione scoffed a little at the term, she wasn't accustomed to cuddling of any kind and it seemed rather childish all together. But, it felt nice to have someone hold her like they could protect her, like they would protect her. She suddenly felt very tired but then realized that he had said 'almost' not just 'everyone'.

"Who's awake?"

He gestured slightly with his head in the direction of the couch in front of the window. Just over the humps of bodies they could see Draco's head looking down at something in his lap.

"He's watching Potter," he whispered in her ear. The brunet shivered at the feeling but forced herself to try and sleep more. She would think on what Malfoy's actions meant in the morning, and maybe what her current situation suggested.

Draco placed his hand in Harry's thick black locks as he looked to the streets out the only window before he heard a noise from the door. "He doesn't sleep like this much." Draco jumped at the sudden voice. "At least not as long as I've known him."

Ron had gone out to get some bottled water and sandwiches for them to eat. He had slipped in while the blonde boy had been absorbed in his thoughts. The redhead was leaning against the door looking at the scene before him, not the other people, but his best friend and his greatest aggravation. Said thorn-in-his-side was glaring at him, probably for startling him. It didn't bother Ron all that much at the moment, because he saw the blondie glance down at the sleeping form.

The Slytherin looked back up at him. "Don't sneak around like that, Weasley. You're as bad as that damn Demon."

"How many times has he slept with you like that?" Ron asked, doing his best to ignoring the infuriating brat's attitude.

"…Twice," he said tentatively. He didn't like the Weasley observing him with the other boy when they were being so intimate, but he wasn't looking at them with any kind of judgment. His blue eyes were gliding over Harry protectively with exhaustion and steadfast stillness.

He took a deep breath, walking over the limp bodies to the window. He stood beside Draco, looking out the same window Malfoy had before. Malfoy looked on from his seat and was soon looking at a man that wasn't looking at him.

"…Are they really so blind?" he asked offhandedly.

"Who?"

Draco nodded his head toward the pair in the corner, a strong arm slung around steady shoulders, their heads pressed close. "I know that Finnegan is a bit promiscuous but I didn't think he was stupid. He has to see how much Thomas wants him."

Ron didn't say anything, he knew all about those two but they weren't what he needed to talk about. The silence was an unhappy one which only two people that didn't like being together could experience.

"I know you don't like me or my family and I don't like you or yours, but you need to understand something… You-I don't know what it is, something about you lets you do the things we can't. Like hold him in his sleep and talk back to him so that he'll listen to you. So if he wants you to stay, I'll handle it, but HE is the most important person here. He needs people, not like we need people. He doesn't think he matters nearly as much as he does. That whole 'saving the world' is mostly about us. He needs us to take care of him because he never takes care of himself, and we do. We'll do anything for him. I thought you deserved to know at least that much. As long as he wants you here, you'll be here, but the second you harm him in any way…"

The sentence was left unfinished, trailing off into oblivion where it could become anything from shunning to killing. Draco found himself liking the redhead in that moment despite the history, he made a decent threat, but that was probably only because it was real. He looked away from the face of the other, he wouldn't give attention to someone that wouldn't give it equally to him.

He looked down at Harry. "Well, that's stupid. If you abandon everything else for him, then what will you have left after he saves the world?"

Ron tilted his head back to look at the sky more than the city. "Maybe we'll have him. If not….You know what, I'll let you see for yourself, Malfoy. Really, just wait. It shouldn't take long. Might be too late already."

He walked to the table in the corner and set the bag down, his long frame eased down into the chair next to it. Draco looked up with furrowed brows. "For what?"

The youngest Weasley boy wouldn't answer, he just leaned his head against the wall and fell asleep instantly. In that same instant there was a loud knock at the door. The sleeping redhead didn't budge and Draco refused to get up just to tell a cleaning woman to go away. The banging persisted to the point that Hermione was soon groggily getting up, making a show of noticing Zabini cuddled up to her and roughly pushing him away, waking him in the process. She had opened the door no more than an inch when it was flung open and Severus Snape flew in.

"Get up, you half-witted Horklump!" he hissed at the mostly sleeping students, who were instantly awake and attentive when they peeked a glance to see their teacher. Draco shook Harry somewhat violently, trying to wake him. The boy rolled his head away from the blonde's stomach toward the shouting. The tall man with his ink black hair didn't make him blot up like the other students, instead he groan and took his sweet time with dislodging himself from Draco's lap. Exos emerged from under the bed, the only darkness she could find in the bright morning, effectively setting off childhood regression for a few people. She stood looking mildly at Severus.

"Despite the gross number of people in pursuit of you, why is it that I am not surprised to find you and your band of ragged lost boys napping?" the Potions Master quipped. Harry laid his head in one propped hand, looking up through mussed locks at his teacher as he continued to lecture. "Considering that there is no rest for the wicked, I should think that it would go without saying for the idiots being chased by them! The Ministry is looking for you, as is Dumbledore, and the Dark Lord. If Riddle does not know yet, then he will very shortly and I must return to him soon. What were you thinking? Running away does you no good."

Harry's eyes snapped to meet the hard black ones looking at him with distain. "It gets us out of that prison. Once we get to the Black Forest we should be able to train for war without being watched all the time."

Snape scoffed, "Never assume that you are not being watched. Thinking you are free is the easiest way to be caught. You do not have time to sleep, you have made your move and now you must keep moving. All of you! I want you in the back alley in no more than five minutes."

The man left with a small sneer on his face. The students grabbed whatever they may have left lying about and started to file down the hall, still watching for danger, Harry and Exos the last to leave. Despite the clothes being a good disguise it was still strange to see the Demon in something other than her robes, and so normal too. As far as anyone could tell they were not being followed, the halls were void of everything but a cleaning lady or two and a few scattered patrons that everyone passed with their breath unconsciously held. The alley was dark and dirty, garbage strewn about and a few large rats running back to their nests before the sun was fully up. The admittedly ragged group followed Snape down twisting allies and sideways, constantly at a hurried jog, until they reached a rundown apartment building. They walked through the door that was strangely not locked and were soon riding a rickety elevator, one Hermione was not sure they should have even been standing in, up to the tenth floor. Here they got off only to enter the fourth apartment on their left, which completely lacked a door. The entire room was covered in dust and scattered papers, all of the windows blotted out by what seemed to be black paint though the light was still clearly trying to beat through. It was likely that lower levels were inhabited by the homeless or had been before the entire thing had been abandoned. Comparing the state of the building to that of the one they had briefly slept in they had managed to travel farther than originally assumed.

Against one wall, that may have at one time been a living room, was a fire place. The mortar was cracked and some of the bricks were missing but it was sure enough their way out of Paris. Snape pulled out a pouch from his robes and began to give instructions.

"Take a small bit and floo to Strasbourg, it's a small city next to the German border. When you get there, stay in the room and wait." No one moved. "Go!"

Nott was the first to grab the powder and floo himself away. The others soon followed, all arriving in what seemed to be a very unused basement. It was very dark and dusty, cob webs hung from every corner and Ron was having a particularly hard time trying not to think of all the spiders that must have made them. Once Snape had followed the last of the students through the fire place, he marched up the rickety stairs to a door. Without any ado, he opened it and marched through the house, the students close behind him.

The house didn't seem as unused as the basement but it was clear that no one spent any extended time there. It was a simple home that none of them got much of a chance to look at as they were quickly escorted outside where the smaller city was in the full swing of the day. They marched around the house and down the simple streets without a word, which bothered more than one member of the group. They walked for a few miles before coming upon some tall fir trees that quickly engulfed them, they did not stop, though.

"How much further to the boarder?" Harry asked Snape, marching up next to the man whose pace had not faltered for an instant. The man walked like he would have preferred to be running.

"We already passed it. Are you so unaware of your surroundings?" He snipped.

"How far in are we going then?"

Snape looked down at him with an unhappy face. "We are still in the muggle portion of the forest. The Magical Creatures Reserve is ten miles from here. Unless you want to be discovered by some random campers, I suggest we go to the protected area."

He walked further ahead of the boy, clearly trying to distance himself. Harry fell behind to walk next to Hermione. He looked at her with some confusion that asked the question for him.

She leaned close to whisper to him. "The world is far bigger than any muggle knows. There are enormous areas of forest and even cities that have been magically closed off. Only wizards or magical creatures can go in, not all can come out. It was part of a movement for privacy enacted in the Ano Damini fifties by Queen Boudicca before her revolt against the Romans."

Harry had been told all of this in History of Magic but Hermione knew better than to assume that he remembered. The trek through the forest wasn't all that bad for the people that had been spending most of the past week walking through forest and tunnels. The others were complaining and slowing before they had reached the seventh mile. Snape told them to be quiet or he would take away their mouths, twice was enough to shut them up for the rest of the trip, even if they didn't quicken their pace in the slightest.

Draco had been walking next to his godfather steadily. "So, how are you going to explain yourself to the old man?"

"I don't intend to. He already knows that it was Lupin and I that assisted Potter in bringing that creature here," he said, sending a dirty look toward Exos. The Demon gave him a small smirk in return. "I will attempt to continue gathering information from the Dark Lord, it will be hard to convince him that I am still going back to the castle every night."

"Then what will the wolf be doing?"

"He will join you once you've made camp. Someone with a brain needs to take care of you."

The blonde looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean 'make camp'?"

Severus stopped mid-stride and turned, looking at each individual. "Didn't any of you bring camping equipment?"

They gave no response. The man's face tightened with anger as he shouted. "Where exactly was it you were planning to sleep? Did you think the trees would open up for you as if you were Pixies?"

Luna blinked her wide blue eyes at him. "That would be cozy, but Pixies are very private about their homes. I don't think they would like to share."

Snape seethed a little.

"We don't need to share their trees though. The Potters own a small estate here."

Heads turned simultaneously to stare at the little blonde girl. Snape questioned her as they continued to walk, getting nothing but unrelated and very strange responses. Their journey didn't end until midday when they were well into the Magical Creature Reserve. They were coming up on a small brownstone house. It looked empty in the way that a haunted house looks empty. Clearly, no one had been there in a long time. As they approached the house a red transparent wall flew up around the structure.

"What was that?" Susan Bones asked with surprise.

Blaise placed his hand on the wall gently, trying to read it with his own magic. "Ah, it's a barrier to keep intruders out."

"Why didn't it shock us then? Barriers for Pure Blood properties usually give off a shock, don't they?"

He smiled a tiny bit. "They do, but considering where this estate is the Potters probably took away that part of the spell to avoid injuring the animals."

Harry was still looking at the house forlornly. "How do we take it down?"

The black boy shrugged. "The same way any Pure Blood gets into their estate. A password, or.."

He grabbed Harry's left hand, pulling out his wand. Noticing the ornate black markings he dropped it instantly and made a grab for the right instead. The second he had the palm up he muttered _Defingo_. Harry hissed in pain as his palm opened in a nasty cut. Zabini slapped the smaller boys palm on the transparent wall. Harry felt the tingling of magic as it coursed along the cut and working its way into his hand. The magic retreated quickly, healing his wound as it went. As soon as the magic had left him the wall fell away.

"What the bloody hell was that?" He shouted, examining his hand.

"It had to make sure that you were really part of the family and not just some random wanker with a Potter's blood on your hand. Don't worry about it. If you had been anyone else the spell would have woven into your heart and killed you," Blaise said casually as he walking toward the house.

"You could say something next time!" He shouted. Draco snickered as he joined the other Slytherins and their professor at the door.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Neville.

"I'm fine. I'd just appreciate it if people would stop cutting me every other day," he said through gritted teeth.

Opening the door, he entered with caution. Inside was not a small home like Harry had expected. His family had clearly made a point of enlarging the inside space so that there was a high ceiling with a fire place, couches and tables, even doors leading to other rooms as well as a staircase. Surprisingly, the colors did not stand out as specifically Gryffindor. There was red and gold but moreover there were just muted warm tones. The place clearly needed to be cleaned what with dust everywhere, some of the Victorian furniture was even overturned.

"Wow," was Ron's only response.

"Now that you are here and safe for the time being, I must go. Try not to burn the building down while you're alone." And with that, Snape walked back out.

None of the students followed him. Hermione got them organized to search the house and clean. The next few hours were not pleasant but they were very productive. The main floor had a large kitchen, sitting room, and library. The upstairs had a long hall of rooms, all of which had been individually claimed by the students. While looking for a sweeping broom, Cho had found a door leading down to a cavernous room which seemed to be used as a bathroom. It was something like the prefects bathroom back at Hogwarts; however, this one had candles all along the walls and edge of the enormous pool. The room was constantly filled with steam, the water apparently came from a hot spring near where the building stood.

Luna made a late lunch of soup. It tasted hearty even though it looked more like tar than soup. They ate their fill, disregarding any suspicions they might have had about possible health risks. The beds looked comfortable all aired out, they were thick with blankets and pillows that felts softer than down. The sun hadn't even reached the horizon when everyone closed their curtains and fell asleep, all except for Luna. The girl sat in her own designated bed, the coverlet embroidered with vines and flowers. Her eyes drifted into a nothingness, for how long she was never sure, but when she looked up again there was a darkness in the corner of her room.

"Will you ever tell them?" Exos asked quietly, once again in her black smoke garments, hair now only reaching the small of her back.

"Perhaps," she murmured.

The little blonde had discarded her earlier ensemble for a sky blue nightgown, with black and white striped leggings. She sat up straight, meeting the red eyes that boar into her soul. She seemed so fragile, easily crushed. That wasn't true of course. Exos stepped closer, brushing the blonde hair behind a pale shoulder. Luna shivered at the cold contact as she looked at the Demon smiling back at her.

"I've wondered what you would be like in person. They've spoken of you but I never thought I would be brought to your new home. Don't you ever miss it?"

"What would I miss?" she asked.

The red haired being gave no response, only looked at the curtains trying to block out the sun. She left the girl to herself, descending to the darkest place she could find.

It was apparent that there would be hours before day break when Draco looked at the grandmother clock in his room to find it was no more than three in the morning. He grabbed at the black blanket, pulling it up to his neck to block out the autumn chill that had woven its way through the house. Rolling onto his side, he felt something solid. He didn't need to look down to know who it was, he just wrapped his thin arm around the other body to pull it a little closer. Harry never woke when he moved. The black mussed hair was propped under his chin. The blonde boy had no idea why the other boy smelt like opium. The smell had been a permanent undertone to some of the older rooms back at the manor and, though it was a drug he never intended to try, he had always loved the smell.

His sharply pointed nose took in the smell of the hair. Harry groaned and moved even closer, that was when Draco felt it. The hardness between the other boy's legs was pressed against his own thigh. The blonde repeated his name until the Gryffindor muttered incoherently, waking with a sigh.

"Dream?" Draco asked knowingly.

"Yeah," Harry replied, clearly not aware of his arousal yet. "Man with no eyes."

The Malfoy didn't know what Harry was talking about, but it didn't matter at the moment. He moved his leg just enough that the movement would be felt by the other. The second Harry realized what the feeling was he turned red.

"Uh, sorry. I'm gonna-," he began but was stopped when he felt a hand snake around his hardness.

His emerald eyes flashed to the silver ones that were staring him down. Draco knew how he had to play this. He couldn't seem bothered by the situation or Potter would get scared. He couldn't act seductive because then Harry would assume that he was just playing with him. It was vital that Draco be absolutely serious. Harry had to believe that he cared about him on an emotional level, so he met those eyes dead on as though he needed some assurance that what he was doing was okay. When the Gryffindor failed to move, or have any kind of reaction other than shock, the Slytherin moved his head closer. He aligned their mouths and brought them to the point of breathing the same air without doing anything else.

Harry was having a hard time believing that it was really happening. He could smell Malfoy, but this time they were both awake. They were looking at each other. His mouth was so-damn-close.

Draco pumped confidently, the glowing of the green eyes hidden as they closed in surprised ecstasy. He had never been touched this way by anyone but himself. When those eyes glowed, the blonde felt something quivering inside. He loved the high he got when he turned on his partners and doing it then to Harry Potter was completely different. It was better, the way he was so raw. The boy didn't exaggerate his reactions or act like this was nothing he would think about later. The hand worked its way past the pants that the Gryffindor hadn't bothered to take off. Harry groaned as pale spindly fingers worked up and down rhythmically, squeezing firmly at the base and sliding up to the top. His palm pressed on the head of the erection, making Harry moan. His arms wrapped around the thin shoulders to grip at the silky hair. He started to rock against the hand, he could feel the heat inside himself. There was moaning and panting, their mouths never moving away from each other yet never touching.

He came shouting just as there was a puff of smoke from the fire place. A singed and bleeding body slumped onto the red Persian rug.

"Remus!"

* * *

A/N: Horklumps are a real creature in the Harry Potter world.

Critiques are always welcome. Don't complain about Harry not lasting long though, please. The boy is still a virgin with little experience, you all remember being there.

Oh! And I completely owe Snape's opening cynicism to my friend Nefarious61, love you.


	10. Pheonix Ignition

Chapter Ten: Phoenix Ignition

Thrice

"It's terrible! I can't believe that retched boy was able to take my children away. How can he get away with this, Albus?" Molly wailed as she sat at the dining table of Grimmuald Place. Arthur squeezed her shoulder tightly, trying to console his wife. The twins were seated on the other side of their mother, their faces serious and their mouths quiet.

Nymphadora stood by the door, biting her lip in concentrated irritation. "They must be under some kind of dark Trans Charm, an old one that only a Pure Blood's kid would know. It doesn't seem obvious, they look perfectly normal when you look at them. The usual gloss in their eyes from a Trans Charm isn't there. It seems to make the victims loyal to the caster, they believe that he's a good guy and whatever he tells them is the truth."

"So we need to break the spell to get them to remember who the bastard is? Can't we just drag em back here?" Moody asked sullenly. He didn't like the situation any more than the rest of them but his tactics required that they hunt the lot down and put them through a disillusioning process. Not something that was practiced by anyone but Aurors, for a few good reasons.

McGonagall shook her head in disapproval. "That's not how we need to go about this. A seventeen year old boy, apparently, with the help of his friends abducted over a dozen students. Even if they have a spell that would allow them to control these students, why would they take anyone but Mr. Potter?"

Kreacher started shouting about blood traitors and filthy muggle lovers being in the house, which inevitably set off Mrs. Black. Dumbledore waited patiently for the noise to stop before he started to speak again. "They wanted help. I am more worried about the other students than I am of Harry. He was the one they wanted but the other students are expendable to them. They are nothing but shields and extra hands to make this all easier for the abductors. They won't be able to just apparent or floo to Voldemort, the ministry is watching portals already. They'll have to travel by foot. To wherever it is they're going."

"And where is that, Albus, hm? You have ears in your walls and spies in every corner; don't you have a clue what those brats are planning to do?" Moody demanded. Why didn't Dumbledore know anything about this? The Malfoy was smart but he did not think he was this smart.

The old man stroked his beard in a deep, thoughtful manner. He sighed to show how tired he was before he could speak. "I may have an idea about where they're going." The others looked at him expectantly. "Severus told me a month ago that the Death Eaters had moved to somewhere in Ukraine. I can think of only one reason for them to go there."

Minerva's face turned ashen. "The Black Sea, Nurmengard."

"Yes, I'm afraid they may be trying to get to Grindelwald. They may wish to persuade him to help them."

"But he's been trapped in that prison for years, and even if they could get to him, he would not help them. Their ideology is too different. Grindelwald didn't want to kill muggles and he would never stand for pointlessly killing wizards! Even if they were muggle bourns, he wouldn't accept it." She seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as the others. Truthfully, the only person in the room that understood the beliefs of the up-riser was Dumbledore.

"I don't know what his ideology is after all this time, perhaps he has changed for the better, or perhaps he now shares the same opinions as Tom. Either way, measures must be taken to ensure that the Death Eaters do not reach him."

"What about Professor Lupin? You said that he had defected, I still can't believe it, but he escaped. Do you think he would be able to get them through Nurmengard? Or Snape for that matter, he's gone too. They're both smart men and there are wards against wizards there but Lupin isn't just a wizard," Arthur pointed out.

Dumbledore looked down at the table with great sadness. "I know that it is hard to accept, but we must all understand. No matter how good a person is, they can be worn down. Voldemort has promised freedom to many werewolves and possibly the development of a cure. You can all see why it would be hard to refuse. I don't feel that I need to say anything in regards to Professor Snape?"

None of them protested, the man had always been rude, giving off a vibe of 'stay away, you repulse me.' It was far from surprising to any of them that he had finally left them. They had been waiting for it, honestly. Ever since his involvement had been revealed, they had been keeping a keen eye on the dark haired spy.

Tonks straightened her shoulders, "What now, sir?"

"We intercept them. Moody, you and Miss Tonks will travel to Ukraine. Guard the coast, they should arrive in a week or so by muggle transportation, longer if they are on foot, also observe if other wizards pass your way. We do not know when the Death Eaters will try to infiltrate Nurmengard but we must be ready. Minerva, we need stricter curfews and stronger protection for the rest of Hogwarts. War is coming."

Remus sat on the couch in the sitting room, most of his body had been bandaged and he was now eating chocolate bars in frighteningly rapid succession. He sipped some tea one of the students had brought him while looking pointedly from Harry to Malfoy. Harry blushed outrageously, at first he had been too worried about whether or not Remus was going to live. Now he could afford to concentrate on being thoroughly mortified. Draco refused to even entertain such thoughts, meeting the werewolf's eyes dead on. A few people had gathered when Remus had arrived, most of them gone back to bed now. Luna, Ron, Hermione, Blaise, and Pansy were still seated around the fireplace. Exos had perched herself on the mantle.

"How are you feeling now, Remus?" Hermione asked his voice full of concern.

"I'll be fine, thank you," he replied, sounding as bad as he looked.

"What happened to you, Professor?" Blaise asked, he found the whole Lycanthropy thing rather interesting. His brown eyes had observed the wounds closely as the gouges had begun to heal even as they bandaged him.

The man set down his tea with surprisingly steady hands. "Dumbledore called me into his office. He asked questions about all of you. I didn't know he knew anything until he used _Crucio _on me. He said he would leave me in the woods, the next moon being on the way everyone would assume I tore myself apart."

Harry's fists were clenched so hard his hands were losing color. Draco was attentive enough to grip the boy's shoulder before he could bolt up in his anger. "Why would he do this?"

"He knew that I knew." Remus answered, taking another bite of chocolate and ignoring Harry's mood. "The time is coming for war, a month or so and we'll be in the midst of battle no matter where we are. Now it's easier to kill people than to carry on a charade."

"That's no excuse!" he raged. The fire flared, lapping at the pale legs of Exos. The black haired boy covered his face with his hands, trying to control himself. Remus's eyes glanced from the doused fire to the unmoved Demon. Looking at the children, he asked, "Have you designed a training regimen?"

Pansy handed the man a sheet of paper with time slots and information. "I was working on it before you showed up."

Hermione shot her a surprised look that Pansy didn't appreciate. "What? You're not the only one with a brain in this place, Granger."

The brunet glared at the other girl, causing Blaise to snicker a bit, earning him a glare of his own that he reveled in. Ignoring his students, Remus looked the piece of parchment over. When he was finished, he stood up to approaching Exos. Giving her the parchment he gave her an expectant look before he asked. "Do you think they can be ready in this time frame?"

She met his eyes, answering curtly. "Perhaps, I do not know the abilities of the other children."

"You've spent a couple days traveling with them, what's your best approximation?"

Her red eyes ghosted over the young humans seated in the room, landing on Luna. "Yes."

Remus nodded in acceptance. "Good, then let's go to bed. I'm sure we could all use some rest. Hermione, would you be a dear and show me to a spare room?"

"Of course, do you need anything else? You were rather badly hurt."

"No, no. Just some rest." They wandered up the stairs, talking about what had happened with Dumbledore on both ends. The other students followed their example, heading off to their own beds. Draco stopped at his own door, watching as Harry passed him, instead going to Ron's room. Their eyes met before Harry closed the door, and the look was one that Draco couldn't understand. He had seen it before but still didn't know what it meant. He decided that it didn't matter if Harry didn't want to sleep with him. He had planted the seed, now he knew he would either wake with the black haired boy curled around him or screams coming from down the hall.

Exos did not go to a room or shadow, or wherever it was that she disappeared to. Instead, she walked outside the doors of the Potter house. It was nice to be under moonlight again, with darkness all around her. The frosty grass crunched under her bare feet, the weather colder than Britannia and winter coming in. She walked steadily into the thick trees, signs of the human poisons were nowhere to be seen. Inside the wizards' cut off world, things were clean and pure. Deep into the night she walked, nothing nocturnal or otherwise stirring until she saw the swish of a tail as black as the dark it walked in.

She paused, waiting for the animal to approach. At least, that's what an observer would have thought. Yet it was with more than even magical-animal intelligence that the black unicorn approached her. Its hair was silky, shining in the light of the bulging quarter moon. The animal looked emaciated with his ribs rippling out of the smooth lay of his side and every column of spine bubbling up its back, visible for all to see. The stance was sturdy despite the appearance. Exos bowed her head ever so slightly, far less than she had to her master, in acknowledgement of the beast.

"So they gave you a name, Exosatratus," the black unicorn said in a masculine toned mockery of her own voice, so very there and not at all.

Her eyes squinted at him, just slightly, as she addressed him. "I have a master, Amduscias, naming me was his right."

"Mm, I suppose it is. Surprising that there are still those of this world that can call out to us. I cannot help but think of all of them as weak. Who is it again?" he asked, swishing his tail in a distracted manner.

Her eyes narrow a little more, how he annoyed her. "Harry Potter."

"The one they go on about then. I also hear things about the one that wants his life. From what I understand, he is like us. He would be one us if not for his blood. Greedy, blood driven, immortal, he sounds like so much fun. Such twisted things, they are entertaining to watch."

"Do you intend to become involved?" she asked, standing straighter.

"Not now, probably not at all. You know I just like to watch. What about you? You intend to protect your master to the end no doubt."

She said nothing, staring at him blankly. It was a stupid question not worth acknowledging as far as she was concerned. Just because he was strong enough to leave their dimension without bidding did not make him all powerful. Just more pompous.

He tilted his head to the side, as though he would have propped it on his hand if he had had one. "I suppose it is your way. Strange that the light one allows you to be so close though. Do you think she intends to kill you?"

The velvety lips moved into a mock smirk as he saw the slight flicker of her eyes. "Hn, perhaps she does not want to kill you. Perhaps you don't want to kill her either. Are you planning to do something other than drink her, small one? It is as good as ceasing to exist you know. She will not reciprocate. Their blood burns for the shed of ours just like ours does for the blood of…well, everything else."

"You should mind your tongue, Amduscias, or she may decide to kill you instead."

He laughed like thunder at her imprudence, stomping his large hooves into the dirt. She did not move or react outwardly, inside she wished to silence him forever by taking out his tongue. After he had finished he turned away from her. "I will leave you to your new pack, small one. Be careful that he does not bring about your death. He seems to do it for all others, it would not be surprising for him to kill a Demon by mere accident."

"If I do die, I promise to see you before I depart," she replied smoothly.

He smiled at her. "Good, don't forget that you are fierceness. It may be the only thing left of you that belongs to us."

"I wish for blood just as much as you. I do not forget myself."

"But whose blood is it you're wishing for, hm?" He left her then, fading back into the trees. She burned for something to kill, to inflict pain upon, so she sought a beast to fight.

Morning came into the Potter house, gliding in as slowly as a cloud in the sky. The new residents awoke, making their beds with a flick of their wands before descending to the kitchen for breakfast. Lavender and Hannah started with pancakes for everyone, which were quickly eaten. Hermione barely noticed she was so deeply engulfed in a book about Animagus transformation. Blaise took it upon himself to remind her to eat every few minutes. She eventually smacked him for interrupting her reading, Ron laughed from across the table.

It had been just as Draco had predicted, he had woken with Harry wrapped around him. Harry ate a fair share of the breakfast, startling those that were observing. His appetite seemed to have suddenly woken from hibernation, demanding he receive sustenance. Remus was the last to be seated at the long dining table, still soar but mostly healed.

The meal passed in merriment that did not beget hunted runaways. After the dishes were done, under Hermione's supervision, they all retreated to the library. It was probably the only place in the house furnished enough for everyone to sit other than the dining room. Harry, Hermione, and Draco took the lead, standing before their class mates with Harry in the middle.

Hermione held up a stack of parchment and began to pass it out. "Here is the training schedule Parkinson has written up. It details a month of training, ideally there would be more time, but this is not an ideal situation. Exosatratus will teach us as much wandless magic as she can, we will also be learning more basic defense spells from Professor Lupin. I will continue looking into Animagus transformation."

Draco stepped forward to take his turn. "We don't know much about the situation other than that Dumbledore is aware of the Demon and Professor Lupin and Professor Snape's defection. Professor Snape is staying close to the Dark Lord-"

Harry tugged on his sleeve, causing Draco to turn to his and hiss silently, "What?"

"Call him by his name, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Calling him the Dark Lord's going to unsettle them."

The blonde sneered, "Snape is attending to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named so that we will know if he is getting close to us. It seems unlikely considering where we are. It is more likely that Dumbledore will find us first, don't be foolish and assume that one is better than the other."

Harry spoke now, "There is nothing we can do for the people still in Hogwarts at the moment other than get strong. Don't send letters to anyone; don't talk to anyone other than the people here. If you see something suspicious, report it to one of us immediately." He looked each of them in the eye, trying his best to exude determination and confidence. He didn't want them there, any of them. They weren't supposed to be preparing for a war that was his, but there was no way he would be able to make them leave. They each met his look and he suddenly felt like maybe he wasn't doomed. "Let's get started."

* * *

A/N: Amduscias- A demon, grand duke of hell. He appears as a unicorn.

Hi, I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted anything for this story. I have no intention of abandoning it though. This is the shortest chapter I've ever posted but I really wanted to give you something. I think I've made you wait about six months and that's just too long. As always, comments, questions, and corrections are welcome.

By the way, I have a poll up on my profile page. Some people have asked questions regarding the story and some of the plot devices. If you would like a Story Thus Far synopsis of Death's Children, go to my profile and vote yes or no. It will be up for about a month before I will consider the votes.


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